“Spiritual maturity isn’t proven by how well I keep my schedule intact, but by how willingly I let God interrupt it—because sometimes the most sacred thing in my day is the moment I didn’t plan.” – Northstar Nate.
I’ll be honest with you—I used to think spiritual growth came mostly through the big, obvious moments. The mountaintop experiences. The answered prayers. The breakthrough conversations. The days when everything feels aligned and meaningful and clearly “God is doing something here.”
But most of life doesn’t feel like that.
Most of life is ordinary. Scheduled. Predictable. And if I’m not careful, I start to believe God is mostly found in the parts of my life I can plan for. That’s why I’ve been thinking a lot lately about something I don’t naturally enjoy: being interruptible.
I’ll tell you something I’ve had to learn the hard way. I like a clean schedule. I like knowing where I’m supposed to be, what I’m supposed to be doing, and how long it’s going to take. I like arriving early, not late. I like finishing what I start. And if I’m honest, I used to see interruptions as the enemy of faithfulness.
Until one Tuesday morning.
I had carved out what I called my “sacred time.” One hour. No meetings. No calls. Just study, pray, and prepare for my small group meeting that night. I had my Bible open, coffee hot, notes spread out like I actually knew what I was doing.
And I was finally settling in. Then the phone rang.
I almost didn’t answer it. I actually stared at it for a few seconds like I could silence it with willpower alone. But something nudged me, so I picked up. On the other end was someone from our church. Their voice didn’t even try to sound strong. You know that kind of call—you can hear the weight before you hear the words.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” they said, “but I didn’t know who else to call.”
And just like that, my carefully constructed morning shifted. I remember looking at my open Bible, then at my notes, then at the clock. I remember thinking, Lord, this wasn’t in the plan. But I also remember something else—I don’t think I would’ve said it out loud then, but I know it now.
Neither was I. I wasn’t in the plan when God first interrupted my life with grace. I wasn’t scheduled when Jesus met me in my own mess and refused to treat me like a distraction. I was the interruption that He turned into a son.
So I closed my notebook.
I didn’t fix everything that day. I didn’t even fix most things. But I listened. I prayed. I showed up. I stayed longer than I had planned. And somewhere in that space, what I thought was a disruption turned into holy ground.
Later that afternoon, I got back to my sermon notes. Funny thing—I don’t even remember what I lost in that hour. But I remember what I didn’t miss.
Here’s what I’ve learned since then: not every interruption is from God, but some of them carry His fingerprints all over them. And the only way to notice the difference is to stay close enough to Him that I’m not just guarding my schedule—I’m listening for His voice in it.
So now I try to hold my plans a little lighter. Because I’ve started to believe something I didn’t always believe before: God is not only present in what I prepare for. He’s also present in what interrupts me.
Discussion Questions
- Where do you most struggle to remain interruptible in your daily life—your time, your plans, or your attention—and what does that reveal about your current sense of control versus trust in God?
- Can you recall a recent “interruption” that later proved meaningful or even redemptive? How might you begin to reframe future interruptions as potential divine appointments rather than distractions?