We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair… struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, NIV)
When the rains fall on a round of golf I’m playing with my buddies, we try to wait it out on the course, but we’re not diehards. If the downpour increases, we head in. We just have too many good weather days here to slog it out in the rain.
Tour players have no such option. Their rounds are interrupted by a combination of rain, lightning, officials’ decisions, and airhorns. They make their way to the clubhouse, wait out the storm, and—if time allows—return for the end of their round. Often, though, the interruption can last until tomorrow.
A few holes here, a few holes there, especially under the demands of competition, is no way to play golf. But these pros have figured out how to handle it.
Of course, an interrupted life is never a joy. Just when it seems like every day is a dream, boom! Stop. Think. Both.
They never let their detours move from interruption to disruption.I wonder how much Mary thought of Jesus as her great interruption. Certainly on the night she was visited by the angel of the Lord to be told that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would bear the Savior of the world, she must have gulped in the biggest of figurative senses. How her life would be different now!
I wonder too how much Jesus thought of the disciples as his great interruption. Their doubt-filled questions and faithless fears sent all kinds of unbelieving messages to the one who simply said, “Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). How many times did Jesus shake his head in prayer, saying, “Really, Father, this thing would be moving along so much faster without these dimwits.” No, there is no biblical record of such a prayer, but I for one can imagine it, if only because I’d have been one of those dimwits.
But let me complete my wondering, because I am confident that Mary and Jesus and all those we read of in Scripture who were submitted to the leading of the Lord managed interruptions great and small in this way: they contained them. That is, they never let their detours move from interruption to disruption.
This is not easy to do, at least not in the practicum. We’re far too willing to be knocked off our mark, prone to complaint, forgetful of God. Oh, we cast our cares—to the winds, so they are aired in every direction but upward. This should not be. Instead, we must keep our God eyes, seeking his face, and our God lips, calling his name. The Spirit in us will become the spirit about us when we lean heavily on God in our heaviest times. We may be interrupted, yes, but not disrupted, not disturbed, not moved from the Rock.
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Jeff Hopper
April 18, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.