“Interruptions are divine appointments.”

It is comforting when someone can take the frustrations of life and connect them to the mysterious working of the sovereign hand of God. But is this comfort rooted in truth? Should we believe that “interruptions are nothing more than divine appointments”?

Life in the 21st Century seems to be increasingly filled with distractions. Distraction is a key part of marketing, especially in social media and visual-based technology which is designed to create addiction. Seemingly helpful features of our phones can be a distraction. If you are a little OCD like me, you can’t stand to have an itty-bitty badge on your phone screen that indicates a new text message or Facebook notification. That notification begs to be cleared! Thus, we are sometimes subtly trained to open the app and view the notification in order to clear that pesky number off of the screen. (A much better option, of course, would be to simply disable all notifications, at least during specific hours of the day.)

Interruptions are related to distractions, or at least they seem so in the moment. People are sometimes simply unmindful of your schedule. Michael Hyatt, leadership and productivity guru, gives some advice on projecting your unavailability at certain times. This may sound uppity or cold, but productivity demands focus, and focus requires… well, focus.  And we can’t focus if we are open to random and persistent interruptions.

All of this being said, we have to consider whether every interruption is a divine appointment.

In my opinion, interruptions are interruptions.

Instead of comforting ourselves in our frustrated lack of focus by claiming that God has actually designed this interruption, we might consider the angle that focuses more on solving the problem. While it is true that unexpected interruptions can open some great opportunities to be a blessing, many of our interruptions may be encouraged by our lack of structure, intention, or focus.

Structure comes more naturally for some than for others, but it is important for all. The structuring of our day can minimize the interruptions we face and can help us to know where our focus should be.

Structure involves developing habits and routines (habit clusters), the use of a calendar, and some way to keep track of all of one’s commitments. When we daily or regularly review our calendars and lists of commitments, we choose where we intend to invest our precious time. We make decisions based upon our priorities. Sometimes, it is helpful to even calendar an appointment with ourselves in order to accomplish some specific project.  Developing this daily direction should minimize “wandering,” direct our focus, and reduce interruptions.

Structure not only makes you more efficient and effective, it also teaches others (including your children) some valuable lessons. They learn self-control, problem solving, and restraint when they recognize that you are not available for a certain amount of time. (It is helpful if this amount of time is specified, so that they have the sense of hope in a coming opportunity to communicate their needs.) They don’t need constant unhindered access. It may be wise to formulate a sign, known by each member of the group/family, which indicates to another that his immediate assistance is required. But those times should be limited. As those wanting your attention learn to discern the degree of importance of their request (their need to interrupt), they will learn that life is not all about them. You have boundaries and responsibilities of which they should be aware. And respect includes a growing acknowledgement of the value of someone else’s schedule.

Other people’s emergencies do not have to dictate your schedule. (Of course, at times, they should, but not in every case.)  It is not necessarily a sin against humanity to be unavailable for a season. You don’t need to answer every text within three minutes, and you certainly do not have to agree to every plea for assistance. These can be unhealthy or at least time-zapping interruptions.

However, there are times when in the course of a normal interruption, we discern a chance to plant gospel seed, be a true friend, or make a vital connection. Someone in the store asks you for help, a child comes to your bedroom at night with a concern, or someone from church calls to ask a question. It may simply be a time to reflect Christ to someone in some way. We can likely minimize interruptions, but when we can’t, we can discern the value of the encounter. In any case, we can attempt to invest in the interrupter, whether it be by meeting the actual need or moving them to a mature awareness of other people’s schedule.

Are there divine appointments? Sure. And we should be happy to take those appointments and be the blessing God wants us to be. But not every interruption can rightly be called a “divine appointment.” It may simply be an opportunity to train ourselves not to be distracted or communicate to others our boundaries or schedule.