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ADVENT REFLECTION

Divine disruption is the theme for our reflection. Divine is anything related to or coming from God. Disruption is a disturbance or problem which interrupts an event, activity, or process. Divine disruption is therefore God’s way of graciously intervening in the affairs of believers to avert evil activities orchestrated against them or to truncate evil plans against them. The Jews had attacked Paul and accused him of teaching against their religion but the Roman commander and his soldiers came in to control the crowd and to take Paul away pending an investigation into the allegations. Paul sought the permission of the commander to address his fellow Jews and to use the opportunity to narrate events leading to his salvation which was actually a divine disruption of his plan to go and attack or have the Christians at Damascus arrested and brought to Jerusalem to be punished just like he supervised the stoning of Stephen. Jesus’ disruption of Paul’s plan to have the Christians punished was also the same event that led to Paul’s call and conversation from Judaism to Christianity. “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour, I received my sight and saw him. And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ (Acts 22:6-16

Dear friend, our lives are in the hands of God who divinely disrupts the evil plans of our enemies whether physical or spiritual. We must remain prayerful at all times for we do not know the plans of others against our lives. We live in an era of insecurity and vulnerability. Some people who are able to afford it, have security guards, guns, exotic dogs and sophiscted state-of-the-art security system installed at their places of abode and offices. The question however remains, how safe are we in this world? Had Jesus not divinely disrupted the sinister plan of Paul and his cohorts on that fateful day, the lives of some faithful believers would have been lost. Paul’s testimony clearly shows us that Jesus looks over us wherever we are, therefore, He will divinely disrupt the plans of the wicked against our lives. We must understand that it is this same God of Jesus who divinely disrupted the plan to have Daniel devoured by Lions in Danie 6:15-23, Again the same God of Jesus divinely disrupted the plan to have Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego destroyed in the burning fiery furnace in Daniel 3:16-28. It is also important to add that even if our bodies are destroyed, our spirits are shall enjoy divine protection and a resting place in the Lord. The divine disruption Jesus causes in our physical situations is actually a sign that if we give our lives to Him wholly He will save our souls from eternal destruction. We are only on earth for a short stay, Heaven is our destination and we pray for divine disruption against any plan of the devil to truncate our entrance into the Kingdom of God. Paul, having experienced the protecting and saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ assures us to “… be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Beloved in the Lord, we also witness God’s divine disruption when Paul was told to leave Jerusalem because it was unsafe for him. “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly because they will not accept your testimony about me.’… And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ (Acts 22:17-18, 21) God is able to redirect our path for our own safety. Let us learn to follow His lead and will for our lives. Shalom.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, keep our family and friends safe in this world of wickedness and uncertainty, we pray for Your divine disruption of any evil activity planned to destroy us. Amen.