The Burrito Can Wait
Serving the Lord is often inconvenient.
I don't mean that to be disrespectful… just honest.
When we surrender our lives to the Lord, we also surrender our schedules and timetables. A servant of the Lord is never really "off the clock"... even when one is about to take a bite of the most delicious burrito.
My husband and I had spent the entire day in New York City filled with ministry meetings and walking. So. Much. Walking.
“Why did we choose to come to NYC during the World Cup?” I wondered. At the time, it felt like poor planning. We fought through crowds, waited on delayed trains, and by the end of the day were exhausted and starving. Still, we were grateful we had made the trip. It had been a full day of ministry, meaningful connections, and fruitful conversations.
Our final delayed train wasn't arriving until 8:00 p.m., which gave us just enough time to grab dinner to-go from a little Mexican spot before catching the last train out of the city.
To our delight, we found a quiet, nearly empty train car on the lower level. We quickly claimed a set of extra-legroom seats facing each other and settled in. As we stretched out and began devouring our dinner, we realized we'd boarded the local train instead of the express.
That meant stopping at every station before reaching our destination.
"Big mistake," I thought. Next time we'd plan better and avoid all these inconveniences!
With burritos on our laps and sore feet resting on the seats across from us, we were ready to enjoy our little Mexican picnic. A few minutes after leaving the city, we reached the first stop. The platform was packed with people heading home from the latest World Cup match.
"Another mistake," I thought.
As people streamed onto the train, our quiet car quickly filled up. The only two seats left were the ones our feet were resting on. Just as the doors were about to close, a man and his son boarded and needed those last seats.
With burritos in hand and dinner balanced on our laps, we quickly moved our feet and made room for them.
This was not my plan.
My plan had looked like an express train ride home with a full belly, noise-canceling headphones, and worship music.
Instead, we were knee-to-knee and face-to-face with strangers, trying to eat the most delicious burrito.
Trying to salvage the situation, I reached for my headphones. Surely worship music would soothe my exhausted soul. As I pressed play on my favorite new song, "Shalom" by Bridge Worship, I heard it.
Hebrew.
My husband and I looked at each other, suddenly realizing the Lord had orchestrated all of our "mistakes."
This wasn't bad planning; it was a divine appointment.
For the next forty minutes of local stops and crowds of soccer fans, we sat face-to-face with an Israeli father and his son and made a new friend, *Netanel.
"Please take my phone number. When you come to Israel, we have to get together!" he insisted.
Moments like this remind me that God is constantly challenging my schedule and convicting me to make room for interruptions.
My pastor once said, "You cannot love people if you are always in a hurry or distracted."
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we see this principle on display. A priest and a Levite both encountered the beaten man, but they passed him by. The Samaritan, however, was willing to be inconvenienced because compassion mattered more than his schedule.
"But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion" (Luke 10:33).
Our lives are full of schedules, to-do lists, and endless busyness, but they are not our master.
The God of compassion is.
And often, the most important work isn't the burrito in our hand… it's the person sitting face-to-face with us, which in this case was one of the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.
What seemed like an inconvenience was actually a divine appointment.
Sometimes, the interruption is the ministry.
Written by Kori, Life in Messiah Staff Member
*Pseudonym used to protect privacy
1. Has God ever used an unexpected interruption to create a divine appointment in your life?
2. Are you leaving enough margin in your schedule for God to interrupt your plans?
3. What would it look like this week to treat every interruption as a potential divine appointment?