He attempted to put up a brave front, but I recognized fear in the quiver of his voice. God impressed upon us to build a farmhouse and as soon as it was built and furnished, my husband Jay faced an employment crisis. With a now dwindled savings, we approached an uncertain future.

We were not on an uncharted course; we’d been here before.

The last time, God held us up with a bag of quarters. Those quarters bought us milk for our babes and gas for Jay’s car. One night, tears spilled down my cheeks as I handed over my fears to the Lord. I grabbed my Bible from the side of the bathtub and it opened to this passage:

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” (Psalms 37: 23-25 English Standard Version)

That night, I received peace God was removing us from a situation that would further harm us and He had a better place already mapped out. Just as our mortgage payment was due, Jay’s first paycheck arrived with his new employer. God showed up just as He did for the Israelites standing at the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army on their tail.

As Christians, I believe facing the uncrossable sea at times is essential to reviving our faith in a powerful God who wants to lead us to the promised abundance on the other side.

My life has had its share of interruptions. Anytime I settle in and get comfortable an event I’m unprepared for hits, like a tsunami rolling upon glassy waters. When I can no longer tread the situation, I reach for God’s hand to keep me from being washed away amongst the debris. Faithfully, God shows me who He is. After the storm passes, things are never in the same place, but often I’m left spiritually stronger, with a renewed faith and a fresh vision into God’s plan for my life.

There are several reasons God allows interruptions in a believer’s life: to discipline a follower who’s drifted off course, to remove a believer from a situation that could potentially harm them in the future, to strengthen us for a mission He’s prepared for us and to place a believer on a path better suited to bringing God glory.

After one year of having all my kids in school and writing a slush pile novel, God called me to homeschool my boys for two years. I gained the blessing of developing my writing skills alongside my boys as I taught them language arts. Furthermore, today I still reap the benefit of the close relationship we developed in our home classroom.

As soon as God provided the funds to put my boys in a private Christian school, my sister was diagnosed with Triple Negative breast cancer. She and her daughter moved in with us so she could receive treatment at MD Anderson in Orlando. That year, God’s presence was palpable as I took care of my sister.

The last year of her life, I found out I was pregnant at the age of 44 with my baby girl, Isabella. My sister held her and gave her the middle name Fawn before she passed away when Isabella was nineteen weeks old. Although my sister’s death has been the most painful of all my interruptions, my husband credits her passing to his renewed devotion to God and his determination to lead others to Christ.

And that fear my husband felt when he faced his employment crisis? God lead him into opening his own development business. Today, he utilizes all the skills he’s acquired and is using his office to lead a Bible study on Thursday mornings. God opened the Red Sea and Jay is walking across the black sands of abundance.

I’m writing from my farmhouse on our twentieth wedding anniversary. Twenty years of interruptions build a strong marriage. My desk looks out to the white barn and paddock dotted with grazing goats. When we built this house we felt it was to be used as a place to hunker down if the economy went sour, but God didn’t tell us what it would be used for. He just told us to build. Today, the farm is used for Bible retreats in teaching couples how to abide in Christ.

How do you know it is God interrupting your life? His interruptions often carry us to a place we would never dream for ourselves. God never calls His followers to complacency, but calls us to a life of continual growth that reveals His character to others.

I don’t know what my future holds, but I know there will be more interruptions. What about your life? Can you identify where God sent a tsunami? Are you in the middle of an interruption and are afraid? Grab hold of the Father.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (I Peter 5:10-11, ESV)

When God Interrupts Your Life