Devotion: Plans and Divine Interruptions

Plans and Divine Interruptions

by Marsha Iddings

James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."


If you are like me, you have a daily planner where you write down all the things you want or need to accomplish during the day, week, month or year. And, if you are like me, you have certain things that you want to get done at certain times. What happens when something comes up to keep you from getting your plans accomplished?


The Lord has been working on me in this area. There have been times when I have planned my day out in detail and invariably something happens to get me off track. I have planned certain activities for certain days of the week or month and I have planned for the kids to accomplish a certain amount of school work in a given time. But when these things have not panned out, I have gotten upset and cranky.


It has taken chronic health issues to teach me the value in saying to myself, "If the Lord wills I will do this or that." I am learning to look at the interruptions of life such as headaches, tendinitis, a needy friend on the phone, an unplanned for work trip out of town with my husband, unexpected trips to the vet, or to physical therapy and the whole myriad of things that can throw a day off track as Divine interruptions.


God is in control of my days. Before I was ever born He had all my days written in His book. Psalm 139:16 says, "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them." If He chooses to interrupt my day, then I need to be willing to allow it with a right attitude. This is hard for me, especially when the interruption is a headache or some other physical pain.


I see the value of planning flexibility into each day if possible. The tree on the ragged rock cliff side learns to be flexible with the wind the that whips it around. If it did not bend with the wind it would just snap and break off. In order for it to bend with the wind, it also needs roots that are deep and wrapped around the rock or it could be uprooted. For us to be flexible with God's Divine Interruptions, we need to have our spiritual roots growing down deep and wrapped around the Rock of our salvation. If they aren't, then we are apt to topple over in our faith when life gets rough.


How are your daily plans? Do you have some flexibility planned in so you can absorb God's Divine Interruptions with grace? Are your plans so important to you that an interruption would make you cranky with those you love? The saying, "Take it one day at a time" is Biblical. Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.