The Power Of Disruption

I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

My credit card information was stolen online. At first, I was annoyed. But as the days passed, I felt less frustrated and more thoughtful about the fallout.

I make many purchases online. That’s convenient, but it also means there are recurring items I don’t always consider in the grand scheme of our finances: a subscription here, a monthly product there. Updating to a new card meant I was newly aware of how many of those were no longer serving me. As I reviewed the sites, I canceled accounts rather than updating information.

Bemused, I realized the disruption I’d been annoyed by had turned out to be helpful.

That’s not always true of disruptions. There have been plenty of times I’ve cried out to God, wondering at the injustice or insensibility of something that’s happened.

But just as often, disruptions have been opportunities for growth or changed my life for the better: A move to a new area brought deep, abiding friendships. A hard conversation enabled healing in a relationship. A career change I agonized over opened new opportunities and allowed for peace in my home. A gentle confrontation established much-needed boundaries.

None of those situations were desirable at the time, but in retrospect, those painful points taught me the most, helped me lean in deeper to Jesus, and ultimately brought hope and healing.

Unlike my limited window into the scope of this life, God’s view is a panorama from start to finish, beginning to end. Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi reminds us that we need to trust in what God is doing—that he will see to completion the good work he began in us. Yes, we will encounter hard things, but there is always a glimmer of hope in the distance. God is always and already doing something new—in or through us—if we have the eyes to see it and the willingness to view disruptions as reminders of the bigger picture.

Kristin

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Reconsider a disruption in your own life that God ultimately used for good, thanking him for helping you to view it differently.