Weekday Devotionals
Make Room for “Interruptions” written by Brenda Nidiffer
Verse:
Philemon 1:7
Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.
Thoughts:
This past Sunday as Pastor Daniel shared scenes from the movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and compared the story of Mr. Roger’s life portrayed in this movie with the story of the Good Samaritan that we read about in Luke 10, my mind was drawn back to a few years ago when God began challenging me to start making room for “interruptions” in my day. It was birthed by a conversation I had with a friend, who shared with me that she purposefully schedules her day with room for interruptions, whether it be one of her kids needing some extra care and attention or something random or unexpected that may arise during her day.
Up until this point of God challenging me with this thought, I would wake up each morning with my “To Do” list and wouldn’t feel at peace going to bed at night unless a good majority of the things were crossed off that list. Although I would feel productive, I often found myself saying, I just don’t have the time for anything else or to put my list of tasks on hold for what God may be nudging my heart to do. It sounds pretty awful now that I look back on it, but it was at this point in my life that God began to shift my perspective from being frustrated and stressed when my day was interrupted by an opportunity to help out someone in need or be a blessing to someone who might just need some extra encouragement on a tough day.
I began to do my best to not cram my schedule so full and be much for realistic with my expectations for what was important to accomplish in a day. By God challenging me to truly surrender my time & energy to him, these “interruptions” soon became moments of blessing & joy in my life because I knew that I was being led by my Heavenly Father to show love & kindness in a variety of situations.
Instead of finding my purpose and joy in my own productivity, I knew that if I was obedient to the Spirit’s leading each day, I was accomplishing what was most important and that in itself made it a good day. I could go to bed with peace & joy in my heart. Yes, the laundry or dishes may still be sitting there, but the person that God put on my heart to reach out to or the late night conversation with my son or daughter was much more important & purposeful than that checkmark I would have placed on my “To Do” list.
As I look back on the change in my heart & perspective, I am grateful for the opportunities God has given me to be used by Him, but also saddened by how many moments I missed to be an extension of God’s love to someone else. It is humbling and honoring to know that if we remain sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our life by using our time, finances and resources to reach out to those God crosses our path with that we can bring joy, love, comfort & refreshment to someone during their time of pain, suffering, discouragement or trial.
What a blessing it is to be used by God to be that source of hope & love to someone in their time of need! I will never view these “interruptions” in my day the same again.
Application:
I encourage & challenge you to spend some time today evaluating how you use your time, resources & energy. Maybe your like me a few years ago, when I needed to begin surrendering how I spent my time & energy to the Lord. Here are a few questions I had to ask myself during that season of surrender and still do to this day to keep myself in check. I encourage you to spend some time honestly answering and praying over areas of your life God may be calling you to a deeper level of surrender in.
Prayer:
Dear Father,
Help us to be aware of the people who are hurting and need a touch from above today. Thank you that you allow us to be a part of showing love to your children. Help us to be obedient and always willing to use our time, energy & resources for the things you place on our hearts to do.
Verse:
Philemon 1:7
Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.
Thoughts:
This past Sunday as Pastor Daniel shared scenes from the movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and compared the story of Mr. Roger’s life portrayed in this movie with the story of the Good Samaritan that we read about in Luke 10, my mind was drawn back to a few years ago when God began challenging me to start making room for “interruptions” in my day. It was birthed by a conversation I had with a friend, who shared with me that she purposefully schedules her day with room for interruptions, whether it be one of her kids needing some extra care and attention or something random or unexpected that may arise during her day.
Up until this point of God challenging me with this thought, I would wake up each morning with my “To Do” list and wouldn’t feel at peace going to bed at night unless a good majority of the things were crossed off that list. Although I would feel productive, I often found myself saying, I just don’t have the time for anything else or to put my list of tasks on hold for what God may be nudging my heart to do. It sounds pretty awful now that I look back on it, but it was at this point in my life that God began to shift my perspective from being frustrated and stressed when my day was interrupted by an opportunity to help out someone in need or be a blessing to someone who might just need some extra encouragement on a tough day.
I began to do my best to not cram my schedule so full and be much for realistic with my expectations for what was important to accomplish in a day. By God challenging me to truly surrender my time & energy to him, these “interruptions” soon became moments of blessing & joy in my life because I knew that I was being led by my Heavenly Father to show love & kindness in a variety of situations.
Instead of finding my purpose and joy in my own productivity, I knew that if I was obedient to the Spirit’s leading each day, I was accomplishing what was most important and that in itself made it a good day. I could go to bed with peace & joy in my heart. Yes, the laundry or dishes may still be sitting there, but the person that God put on my heart to reach out to or the late night conversation with my son or daughter was much more important & purposeful than that checkmark I would have placed on my “To Do” list.
As I look back on the change in my heart & perspective, I am grateful for the opportunities God has given me to be used by Him, but also saddened by how many moments I missed to be an extension of God’s love to someone else. It is humbling and honoring to know that if we remain sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our life by using our time, finances and resources to reach out to those God crosses our path with that we can bring joy, love, comfort & refreshment to someone during their time of pain, suffering, discouragement or trial.
What a blessing it is to be used by God to be that source of hope & love to someone in their time of need! I will never view these “interruptions” in my day the same again.
Application:
I encourage & challenge you to spend some time today evaluating how you use your time, resources & energy. Maybe your like me a few years ago, when I needed to begin surrendering how I spent my time & energy to the Lord. Here are a few questions I had to ask myself during that season of surrender and still do to this day to keep myself in check. I encourage you to spend some time honestly answering and praying over areas of your life God may be calling you to a deeper level of surrender in.
- Do you get frustrated when you have to put your agenda on hold to help serve or reach out to someone in need?
- Are you able to be fully present for those who are walking through a tough time?
- When you feel the Lord nudging your heart to reach out someone, do you respond immediately or put it on hold until your “To Do List” is finished for the day?
Prayer:
Dear Father,
Help us to be aware of the people who are hurting and need a touch from above today. Thank you that you allow us to be a part of showing love to your children. Help us to be obedient and always willing to use our time, energy & resources for the things you place on our hearts to do.
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