The Value of Interruptions

Do you like interruptions?  I confess that one of my pet peeves is to be interrupted.  If I am focused on anything — such as a conversation or writing a blog — and the phone rings, my dog nudges to go outside, or my reading light bulb blows, I get cranky.  Interruptions irk me.   So I studied the times in scripture when interruptions take place.  The mother of Jesus was interrupted by the call of the Angel to carry the Son of God.  The Patriarchs were interrupted by angelic visitations.A prophet who lived in the Promise Land got interrupted by his donkey, and this one interruption caught my attention. (Numbers 22.)Balaam was a diviner, a prophet who could “read” the gods.  To him, Jehovah was one of many gods that Balaam courted.  The Moabite king, one of Israel’s enemies, asked Balaam to curse Israel. But Yahweh told Balaam not to go and curse them.  “Don’t go. The Israelites are blessed.”To make a long story short, King Balak pressured Balaam about going.  Finally the prophet said, “Oh, what the heck”, mounted his donkey and rode off to do the cursing of Israel.But God interrupted him.  Jehovah sent an angel — which Balaam could not see at first — to block the path of his donkey.  The animal tried to turn Balaam away from this disobedient act, by going off the intended path three times.  Balaam was annoyed and he beat his beast of burden each time.  Finally, God had the ass speak to his master in order to get his attention.  Only then, because Balaam was supernaturally interrupted, did the prophet realize how disobedient he was.God had stepped into the middle of the path Balaam had chosen, and tried to change his direction. It took three times and a talking donkey for God to get Balaam’s attention.  Finally, the prophet repented, and went to tell the Moabite king, “I must say what God tells me to say.”  After the interruptions, Balaam obeyed God.Now, when I consider that interruptions are God-permitted, I use them to recalibrate my direction (my thought-life and my intentions).  This readjustment takes the “sting” out of them. I try to view them as mini “faith-tests”, a momentary challenge to call me back to walking in faith no matter what is happening.Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the interruptions in my life.In Christ,