How I Learned to Understand Disrupting Grace

Published on by Michelle JohnsonLeave a comment

It’s safe to say that no one likes to be disrupted in life.

We enjoy planning out our days, getting excited about the future, and hoping and praying that everything works out just the way we want.

Let me ask you this: when was the last time that actually happened?

If I’m being frank, I don’t think that’s ever happened to me.

And I’m more than thankful for it.

When we put our own plans ahead of the Lord’s, what do we often times experience?

Disruption.

And is it comfortable? Heck no! It’s awkward, annoying, and down-right painful at times!

This Easter I’m realizing that pretty much all of my plans that I made and the expectations I had for marriage were shattered. I wanted us to live in our apartment in Hilliard for a few years, save up to buy a house, and then get a dog. Then, a few years after that, we’d settle down some more and have kids, and so on. I would be happily working at my job downtown, Joe would love working at Riverside, and we’d be sitting pretty in whatever income we were making.

I think it’s safe to say that assumptions can sometimes be more damaging to us emotionally than the fear of knowing “the unknown” that lies ahead.

We assumed we would get a house before we got a dog. Enter Mack about a month into our marriage. Then three months later, we bought a house. Between adopting Mack and buying a house, I got a new job. It looked like I had gotten it all wrong.

Needless to say, I felt incredibly disrupted by my plans changing again and again. I was confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Why would the Lord allow me to get so excited about things, just to have them come crashing down?

Friends, there’s one thing I have learned so far in our (almost) one year of marriage that has completely transformed my faith: God cares more about our hearts and how much we trust Him, more than anything else.

Therefore, if something doesn’t go your way, think of it this way: God is disrupting you by giving you grace. He has much better plans for you and wants to give them to you.

This Easter season, if you’re struggling to trust the Lord because you feel as though He hasn’t been answering your prayers, take heart. When He speaks, He does what He says He’s going to do. If He can raise Christ from the dead, He will certainly pull you out of the grave you’re stuck in.

“Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'”

John 13:7 (NIV)