Divine Disruptions

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” 

Matthew 2:13

Joseph was warned in a dream that the life of Jesus was in danger, because of the anger of Herod. Once again, Mary and Joseph were hearing from God and had to pick up and move to a new place. Since the first announcement of the conception of Jesus, it must have seemed as if it were something new every day, and not always something good. In other words, Jesus was proving to be a disruptive presence in their lives.

This is what Jesus does: He comes in and He disrupts us. It usually happens when we are getting too comfortable or when we are starting to veer in the wrong direction, or it may happen when we are in danger or when God simply wants us to be somewhere else. His disruptions are for our good, and it is important that we are continually open to whatever interruption He may throw into our day, our week, our life.

Mary had experienced these disruptions time and time again, and as she experienced more of them, I am sure that she could look back and see God’s perfect direction in each disruption. What to many people might be an interruption, Mary was learning to see as provision. God’s provision.

That’s how it is: The more disturbances, or unplanned events, or troubles that we experience, the more we have an opportunity to trust the Lord for His perfect plan to be fulfilled. And, each time we trust Him and exercise our faith, He comes through. Then, the next time, it is just a little easier for us to have faith that all will work out.

In other words, looking back helps us to look forward.

In this story, just consider what Mary must have been feeling: She had already faced several disruptions: accepting her pregnancy as a virgin, telling Joseph about the situation,  traveling to Bethlehem while pregnant, giving birth in less-than-ideal circumstances, to name just a few of the disruptions told through the Scriptures. And now, just when things seemed to be settling down, she needed to flee to Egypt because a king wanted to kill her Baby, her Savior.

It doesn’t tell us that Mary questioned or wondered; it tells us that she went, following Joseph’s guidance. I can only imagine at this point that it was getting easier and easier to accept these disruptions, and when she learned of the massacre of the male babies in Jerusalem, just think how relieved she must have been that she and Joseph had been able to faithfully face yet another disruption and see God’s perfect plan fulfilled.

When we look back at our lives, we can see a constant thread running through, showing how God delivered us time and time again. At the time, it just seemed like a disruption – losing a job or a loved one, facing bad news, or just having a bad day – but with perspective, the disruption becomes Divine.

May we look back at all that the Lord has done for us and may we recognize life’s events as divine. And may we look forward to the next disruption, to see God prove Himself once again.