Thrown off ScriptSample

Day 1 – Interrupted You

Jesus was having a bad day. I don’t mean a flat-tire bad day. I mean the-king-beheaded-your-cousin-and-you-haven’t-had-anything-to-eat-all-day bad day. Fully human, Jesus was reeling from the non-stop healing and teaching, the celebrity-status invasion of personal space, and the murder of his cousin to cap it all off. Jesus needed a minute.

He and his friends climbed into a boat and sailed across a lake. They would enjoy some solitude along the way, and arrive on the other side to find some peace and quiet and—oh, wait. Nope. The crowd they left behind ran around to the other side to meet them there.

If I was in Jesus’ place, I’d be thinking “Are you kidding me? Don’t they realize how much work I’m doing? Can’t I have time to put two thoughts together without someone needing something from me?”

When you face interruptions, especially when your day has already been derailed, it’s easy to feel angry and overwhelmed. All you want is for things to go back to “normal.” But what was Jesus’ response?

“Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”

Here’s the key to dealing with interruptions: Jesus didn’t view the crowd as an interruption! He viewed them as sheep needing a shepherd. To Jesus, each person and circumstance that forced its way into his life was an opportunity to serve with the love of his Father. This was his purpose, and ours. These were not interruptions to His real life. They ​were​ His real life. The same is true of you. Before you can hope to change your reaction to the unexpected, you need to first change your perspective of interruptions. 

Take it to God: Lord, please help me to see others the way you see them.

Take action: Who is someone in your life you dread encountering? List three true and positive things about them.