By Doug Creamer
On Friday nights we like to get some takeout food and watch a movie. This began because of the pandemic. We have watched so many great movies and I really look forward to our time together. My wife likes some old black and white movies and I have come to really enjoy them, too. Actually, I enjoy most movies as long as I get to watch them with her.
I was really looking forward to last Friday night because we had picked a movie I have really been wanting to see. We had just dished up our dinner and were sitting down when the power went out. I try to remain positive and hopeful in most situations. I said that we should just start eating and wait for the power to come back on. It had gone out earlier in the evening for about fifteen minutes and I figured we would get lucky again.
All my positive thinking came to nothing. The power did not come back on. What bothered both of us was that there wasn’t a storm or any logical reason why our power would go out. Being an Eagle Scout, I got out our lanterns so at least we weren’t sitting in the dark. Some friends heard we had no power and invited us over, but I kept thinking it would be back on any minute. It didn’t come back on until the middle of the night.
While I was disappointed we didn’t get to see the movie, it will wait until next Friday night. I did get to enjoy a nice evening catching up with my wife. Sometimes life gets busy and you forget to tell each other about things that are going on. We all lead busy lives and slowing down is a good thing, even when your plans get interrupted.
We have two Sunday school teachers who share the responsibility of teaching our class. One of them has been teaching us about divine interruptions. There are times that God intervenes in our lives. I firmly believe that God interacts with us every day. But I also believe that there are special moments when God moves in our lives. Sometimes His interaction is to save us, heal us, or set us free. Other times His interaction could be considered the testing of our faith. In those moments He wants to reveal Himself to us in a new way.
We have all read the stories in the Bible of people being healed. The stories are in both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus performed many miracles, as did the disciples. I have seen people get healed, know people who were healed, and have heard stories of people who were healed. Those are divine interactions. God still moves in our world today.
He isn’t limited to healings. Some people have been saved from perilous situations. Others have been divinely protected. Some people have interacted with angels. Some experience God through deliverance from a life of sin or drug addiction. They know the power of God because chains have been broken and prison doors opened.
Many of us have experienced God as we have gone through various trials, temptations, and challenges that seemed bigger than life. I imagine Daniel spending the night in a lion’s den. I just read the story of Joseph, who spent 13 years in servitude and in a dungeon. Everyone knows the story of Job and how he lost everything. Experiencing God in these ways will challenge a person’s faith. But we have a God who helps to see us through and that makes all the difference.
A divine interruption calls us to have faith in a great big God. His desire is to help see us through circumstances. Sometimes He will rescue us and other times He chooses to leave us in a situation and walk with us through that situation. He wants us to know Him as helper, sustainer, and friend. He wants us to know we can depend upon Him and draw strength from Him. He is a good, loving Father who is always there for us. He is a God who keeps His promises to us.
I want to encourage you to welcome divine interruptions in your life. Whether it is good or challenging, God will be there for you. We can celebrate the good interruptions and pray together through the challenging ones. We can believe that God is going to be with us through the challenges and we will make it to the other side. God loves us more than we will ever understand so we can trust Him with everything that comes our way.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
