Sept 17 Interruptions are Opportunities
Affirmation: I enjoy being creative.
God is the most creative being in existence, follow His example. 😍
One of my favorite qualities of Jesus is the way he responded to interruptions. Read the gospels and try to count how many stories involve a couple of interruptions. He and his friends would be on their way to a city, and suddenly a woman would approach him, desperate for a relief from an illness she’s been plagued by for over a decade. Or he would be on his way to heal someone, and he got word that he was needed elsewhere—a young child had stopped breathing, and they thought maybe he could help.
Most of us get frustrated by interruptions because we think they get in the way of the real work we’re supposed to be doing. But Jesus didn’t see it that way. When Jesus experienced an interruption, he saw people in need. Loving people wasn’t something on Jesus’s to do list or something to squeeze into his schedule when he had time. His whole life was about loving people, and whoever was in front of him was the most important person to him in that moment.
Jesus showed us love isn’t something we do; it’s someone we become. You’ll know this is happening in your life when you see how you respond to the interruptions in your day. What’s really happening on our insides comes pouring out when we’re tired and pressed and in the middle of something urgent and are interrupted. Those moments revealed what we’re made of, and for Jesus, those moments revealed love.
God is the most creative being in existence, follow His example. 😍
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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: What is Nahum 1:7 communicating to you? What do you need to talk to God about today? Ponder and talk to God, then with trust…listen.
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,”
Nahum 1:7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/nam.1.7.NIV
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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown
Cultivate Play and Rest, Let go of Exhaustion and Productivity as status symbols and self-worth.
Recap:
Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, begs to differ. He tells us that play isn’t a luxury. It’s actually a necessity for us to operate in the fullness of our potential.
This is because “The opposite of play is not work, the opposite of play is depression.”
Put another way: the more that play disappears from your life, the closer you move towards a state of depression.
The same goes for rest. Many people see rest as a luxury and vilify it with an “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” attitude.
But again, the exact opposite is true. Without appropriate rest, you prevent yourself from fully experiencing the moments of your days. I’d propose a revised version of the above quip: “Without sleep, I’m practically dead already.”
Furthermore, the TIME you spend working is a shoddy metric for progress. What matters most is the quality of the ATTENTION and ENERGY you bring to what you do.
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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews
The Compassionate Decision
6. I WILL GREET THIS DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT.
By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts. I will forgive those who have criticized me unjustly.
I now understand that forgiveness has value only when it is given away. I forgive their lack of vision, and I forge ahead.
I now know that criticism is part of the price paid for leaping past mediocrity. I will forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
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Reading for Today
Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff
Look SEPTEMBER 17
SEE INTERRUPTIONS AS OPPORTUNITIES AND YOU’LL BE MORE LIKE JESUS THAN BEFORE.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
One of my favorite qualities of Jesus is the way he responded to interruptions. Read the gospels and try to count how many stories involve a couple of interruptions. He and his friends would be on their way to a city, and suddenly a woman would approach him, desperate for a relief from an illness she’s been plagued by for over a decade. Or he would be on his way to heal someone, and he got word that he was needed elsewhere—a young child had stopped breathing, and they thought maybe he could help.
Most of us get frustrated by interruptions because we think they get in the way of the real work we’re supposed to be doing. But Jesus didn’t see it that way. When Jesus experienced an interruption, he saw people in need. Loving people wasn’t something on Jesus’s to do list or something to squeeze into his schedule when he had time. His whole life was about loving people, and whoever was in front of him was the most important person to him in that moment.
Jesus showed us love isn’t something we do; it’s someone we become. You’ll know this is happening in your life when you see how you respond to the interruptions in your day. What’s really happening on our insides comes pouring out when we’re tired and pressed and in the middle of something urgent and are interrupted. Those moments revealed what we’re made of, and for Jesus, those moments revealed love.
The more we become like Jesus, the more we will stop resenting interruptions and start embracing them. Look for moments of love in the midst of interruptions, and you’ll be like Jesus for someone else in need. Following Jesus means a lot of constant interruptions. Prepare to be interrupted.
Who’s trying to interrupt you these days? How can you turn your heart toward them today?
Who’s trying to interrupt you these days? How can you turn your heart toward them today?
Lately, I feel my peers sometimes interrupt me whether in conversations or in how I try to focus. I’m learning not to take it harshly, but to see it as part of how we all interact. Today, I can turn my heart toward them by practicing patience, listening to them more deeply, and responding with kindness instead of frustration. That way, I grow too, not just in patience but in understanding.
ReplyDeleteMy peers may interrupt me at times, but with God’s grace I choose patience and kind toward them today.
ReplyDelete