The prophet Jonah’s existence was interrupted by a call of God that would require a complete change of life. And it scared him enough to make him run in the opposite direction. Yet, what seemed to him to be an unnecessary and useless interruption was really an opportunity for Jonah to be involved in something the likes of which the Old Testament world had never seen before. This interruption was really a divine intervention and it held more adventure and possibility than he could have ever imagined.
I wish that I had known then what I know
now I mean about a life that’s
interrupted you see my life was gonna be
music I mean literally I thought that I
would be involved in music somehow and
that was my ambition my goal my plan
when I was a teenager and I strove for
that and everything that I did I even
auditioned for some nationally known
singing groups and they asked me to come
on board but I was given some wise
counsel that maybe I should wait and
just be patient
and finish school first and that’s
exactly what I did but when all the
obstacles cleared away those
opportunities that had been so readily
available for me they had now all passed
and I was mad and I thought God didn’t
know what he was doing and all this time
I was dating a young a young guy great
Christian guy those first romantic and
sweet promises of marriage were on the
table we were talking about building a
life together I was into him totally but
that relationship ended and I felt like
I would never be able to emotionally
recover from that devastation and I even
prayed and begged God to restore that
relationship but do you know more now
than anything I thank God for unanswered
prayers several years after I did get
married my husband and I found out that
we were pregnant with our first baby and
it was unexpected it was a surprise but
we were excited about it and we were
just settling into the idea and getting
used to it when I discovered that I was
having a miscarriage we were so sad
frustrated with life frustrated with God
it was a life interruption we were so
disappointed and we were worried we were
worried because what did this mean for
us would it mean that I would never be
able to have children was there
something wrong what we’re not going to
be able to have the family that we had
always dreamed of well that wouldn’t be
the case because shortly thereafter
Jackson Vaughn Shire came to be a part
of our our lives our first son and then
Jerry Shire jr. came shortly after two
wonderful boys and they were rounding
the corner from their toddler years into
their school-age years we sold the crib
and gave away all the baby toys and we
were ready to move on the pacifiers were
out of the house
just as I was to discover there was
another baby on the way
Jude Maddox Shire our surprise baby
definitely a gift but you do know that
God’s gifts require lifestyle
modifications oh I know you know how
this feels when you’ve set out one path
for yourself and you’ve been headed in
that direction and that all of a sudden
God throws a doozy in there something
that just kind of knocks you off your
guard for just a moment you’ve got to
get your footing and find your bearings
again I know exactly how that feels and
so maybe for you here in your retirement
years you thought your nest egg would be
more solid than it is in this current
economy or it’s that child that you’ve
invested so much in but now as a young
adult they’ve decided to live in a way
that is shocking to you or maybe it’s
that you thought that when you signed up
to be a follower of Jesus Christ it
would mean marriage by now and yet
you’re still single
or maybe you were married and thought
following Christ and yielding to him in
the season of life of marriage would
mean a lifelong relationship and yet
your spouse’s chosen to bail out on you
how will you respond when life
interrupts when God’s will is different
than what we originally intended because
you see if I had gone into music I would
have missed out on the real ministry God
had planned for me had I married that
first guy I would have missed out on my
husband Jerry Shire a man who is
uniquely gifted not just for me and for
our boys but for the ministry that God
has for both of us how I wish I had
known then what God is just helping me
now to begin to discover and I wonder if
you know exactly how I feel well I know
how you feel and so does the prophet
Jonah because you see he was settled and
satisfied with the life that he had
always known as a prophet to the nation
of Israel he was cosy and comfortable
working among the people that he loved
and he would have left it just that way
had a word not come from the Lord
interrupting his path and dear ailing
him onto another course of life and he
did not like it just like you and I
don’t like it and the story of Jonah we
figure out how to yield
to a Life interrupted in fact how to see
it with brand-new perspective to see
that life interruptions are the
springboard for the best that God has to
offer us they’re not really life
interruptions they’re divine
interventions so I’m inviting you to
join me for a look at navigating a Life
interrupted the UPS the downs the hills
the valleys and how if we’ll just yield
to him we can expect supernatural
results even when life is tough we can
expect supernatural results that will
blow our minds Jonah saw it happen and
will see it happen too