How Do You Deal With Life’s Interruptions?
I stared at the question on my computer screen and laughed out loud. Since I sat down to prepare for my Bible study lesson, I have had numerous phone calls, text messages, and other disturbances. How do I deal with interruptions? If my growing annoyance and frustration with others are any indication, not very well, it would seem.
How about you? How do you handle rained-out picnics, canceled vacations due to family illness, or guests showing up on your one quiet night, surprising you with their impromptu visit and expectations of dinner? How do you react when the dog doesn’t quit barking, the kids won’t quit fighting, the boss won’t quit complaining, and the world around you won’t stop asking for more of you?
I can tell you how Jesus responded to life’s interruptions. We can see it many times throughout the pages of Scripture, but today, I want to focus on a single story that the Bible repeats four times. Yep, each of the gospels includes the story of the feeding of the 5,000 men plus women and children.
Typically, we see a miracle and nothing more when we look at this miraculous account. To fully understand everything Jesus was teaching us during this tale, we must look back to where it began.
Jesus and his disciples were gathered together after a while of being separated. He had sent the disciples out in groups of two to minister to the people in the various cities. They did miracles, cast out demons, and healed diseases. Meanwhile, Jesus was doing the same. They were all so busy that they didn’t even have time to eat. (Mark 6:31) While apart, the disciples discovered that Jesus’ cousin and dear friend, John the Baptist, had been beheaded by the wicked King Herod, and once reunited, they told Jesus the sad news. Jesus told his disciples they all needed to get away and rest awhile, so they boarded a boat and headed across the Sea of Galilee. But by the time they reached the other side, a vast congregation was already there, waiting for Jesus to do miracles and teach them. That’s where our story picks up.
Jesus was tired, hungry, weary, and in mourning. The last thing he wanted to do was be around a lot of people. He needed rest. He wanted food. He desperately needed some downtime, as we all occasionally do. While He was 100% God, He was also 100% man, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but these bodies get tired and hungry quite often, and they don’t work particularly well when we’re hangry (yes, I spelled that correctly). But notice how Jesus responded to the interruption of His plans.
And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. - Matthew 14:14
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. - Mark 6:34
And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. - Luke 9:11
Jesus didn’t feel sorry for Himself; He felt sorry for others. He had compassion for the people. He saw their needs as greater than His own and set aside His own needs for the time so He could focus on others. In short, He put others first.
I am not advocating that we should push ourselves to the limit or neglect our needs just so we can care for others. We have to rest. We need to eat. Some of us need to do those things more regularly than others. We do have legitimate needs, and we shouldn’t neglect them. That being said, we could all do more to focus on others and less on ourselves, couldn’t we? We get so bent out of shape when someone interrupts our downtime but think about how blessed we are. We take so many things for granted, including how often our plans aren’t interrupted or intruded upon. Sometimes, we need to get over ourselves and focus on how God can use us to bless others. That’s what Jesus did, and while it may not have been the afternoon Jesus had planned, it turned out pretty well, didn’t it?