Divine Interruptions

Weeks before Christmas 2015, and now 3 years into infertility, James remembered to tell me about a dream he had a few nights earlier. We were walking together hand in hand and came across a sign with the name “Hannah” in bright lights. He didn’t know what it meant, but thought that maybe we would have a girl one day and name her Hannah or maybe I should just go read the story of Hannah again. It was anyone’s guess really, and the Christmas frenzy carried on.

Around that time, a precious friend asked me if there were any verses I pray over our child for his or her life? I confessed that I didn’t and shared these thoughts with her:

"The thing I’m struggling with is that many people I trust have shared prayers, dreams, visions and even prophecies with me about having a child... but in all my years of struggling with this, I haven’t really gotten a personal promise from the Lord. I’ve wondered if the problem was my lack of belief; maybe God already gave me the promise through the mouth of another, and I just didn’t realize or receive it. I guess I’m still waiting for the guarantee to come to me first-hand. I would have so much more faith to pray to that end, but for now I’m held back."

A few days after Christmas, a guest speaker spoke at our church from Luke 1:26-38 on “Divine Interruptions”. He asked the question: What would happen if we believed what God said was true? 

There it was again. The word "believe" that wouldn't let me be. Below are some of the notes I took down during the message:

Jesus always moves into our lives as an interruption. The Savior is interrupting. That brings tension to the way we live. If He is Lord, He's Lord of all: your vacations, work life, how you drive in traffic, sex life, what you say. Jesus interrupts us in the natural, to do something bigger in the supernatural. God uses Jesus-sized interruptions to birth a bigger purpose in our lives.

The salvation of the entire world came through Mary. She was the very vehicle for a bigger purpose. Natural collided with supernatural.

God wants to birth a Jesus-sized interruption in our lives that leads to a God-glorifying movement.

Most of the time, provision comes after the step of obedience. God has an assignment for you that requires faith, obedience, and belief! Saying "yes" to one thing will usually lead to another "yes" and another... as you walk out God's assignment.

Mary's question of “How will this be since I am a virgin?” was completely sensible. The answer was... the Holy Spirit. He would do the work. God can be trusted to supernaturally accomplish His will. Let God be the how!

In Luke 1:38, we see Mary's punctuation change from a question mark to a period. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:38) The question was settled. How do you make room for a divine interruption? Believe what God said is true. Just believe. Take Him at His word.

I was still waiting for the Lord to make it clear if He had a baby in mind for me, but my heart was certainly being primed to find out. He had my full attention.

The following Sunday, I was scheduled to fill in for our worship pastor and thought: Hmmm, maybe it’s time I read about Hannah (1 Samuel 1:1-19). On January 1 and 2, I stepped into her life and wept. Her sorrow and grief from being childless was so visible that the priest Eli thought she was drunk. These words from a commentary convicted me: “Childless, Hannah was not prayerless. Barren, she still believed. Her pain found a refuge in prayer.”

There it was yet again. Believe. She prayed and believed. In verse 18, it says that her countenance changed before her prayer was ever answered. I was struck with the realization that I wanted Hannah's kind of faith and belief. An “I prayed about it, He heard it, and it’s in His hands” attitude.

I had no idea that my own question mark was about to become a period. A divine interruption was around the corner.