Oh, Jonah!

I’ve learned to re-prioritize my life over these past few months, making it much more simple, and taking time to appreciate people more than things. I’ve also had much more time to do things like read books that encourage and uplift me when I need it most. It’s been great to hear God speak through other followers of Him. Most recently I read, a book by Priscilla Shirer called, Life Interrupted: Navigating the Unexpected.

It’s too good for me not to share some thoughts about it with you.

The book starts off saying “I wish I’d known then what I know now.” My goodness, don’t we all? Can’t we all look at moments in our life when we wish we’d had more answers or been able to glimpse a little of what the future held? And yet we absolutely can’t. But we can however, learn, after experiencing time after time of God’s grace and mercy and unfailing love and wisdom, that He knows best, and that His way is infinitely better. Jonah’s story was a great one to teach us just that. I’m so glad I read this book. And glad I read it precisely when I did.

Without spoiling the book, since I highly recommend you read it, I will just say that Priscilla looks at all these interruptions first as our Ninevah, but then as something much more. Ninevah, in short, is something God is calling you to that is not in YOUR plan, and could be positive or negative. It could be a health problem (or healing from one), or a job that you’ve been granted (or laid off from), or a new baby that you are excited about (or not excited about at all), a new marriage (or separation), or any number of “surprise” moments that you weren’t expecting. The good news is God isn’t surprised at all and He was expecting them all along. That’s why the author chooses to, instead of calling them interruptions, call them divine interventions. They lead us to a better place and time than we could have ever been in on our own.

I couldn’t have read this at a better time. My heart needed a divine interruption because my head had it all figured out. What about you? What divine interruption is happening in your life that you might view as inconvenient and instead should be considering with pure joy?

James 1:2-4 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

How much easier would life be if we felt joy in our “interruptions” instead of fear or anxiety or sadness?

I don’t know but I hope I have the courage to find out without having to get swallowed by a whale first.

Go read the book and let me know what YOU think!