Day 7 - Life Interrupted
Have you ever been in a place where suddenly things aren't going exactly as planned? A few years ago, my family and I were on a road trip, headed toward the beach. About halfway through the trip, while driving down a somewhat isolated interstate, something happened. Every light on the dashboard of the car came on, and suddenly the car seemed to lose power. Everything happened quickly, and before we knew it, we were broken down on the side of the interstate. Although we eventually made it to our destination, the trip definitely didn't go as planned.
In Luke 1, an angel from heaven is sent to speak to a girl named Mary. Mary was a young teenager at the time, and engaged to be married. You can imagine that she had many plans and preparations she was part of as she prepared for her future life. Suddenly, as the angel appears to Mary, everything changes. Though she is a virgin, she is told she is soon to be pregnant with the Messiah that has been anticipated for hundreds and hundreds of years. Can you imagine the thoughts that could be running through her mind as she listened to Gabriel's message? "Surely, God, you have the wrong person. There's no way you have chosen me for this purpose. Also, I have A LOT going on in life right now! This is not at all what I have planned."
Many of us can identity with that sense of life being completely interrupted, a massive change in plans that come when least expected. Though sometimes these interruptions can come as minor annoyances, like a delay on a road trip, sometimes they can be much bigger and filled with incredible purpose. Mary's life certainly took a much different turn than she anticipated, and the result was that she played a central part in God's redemption plan for all of humankind! As you face life's interruptions, how can you seek God's voice and purpose through your circumstance?