Jeremiah 32-33
Hebrews 1
“When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
Some of us love to plan out every minute of our day and our goals in life. Yet, when we read Scripture, we will find that there were times when Christ was disturbed and disrupted. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus wept over His people and cried,
“…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings....” When Jesus chose to step down from heaven to come on earth and die on the cross for us, 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us, “…though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” We see this disrupted heart of God that is willing to come after us. As we consider God, who is willing to be disrupted and disturbed for us and be incarnated into this broken world, could it be that when we live in Him and His Spirit lives in us, He says to us, “Come, let Me disturb you, let Me disrupt your plans so that we can usher more people under My wings”?
A number of years ago, my (Farzam Mohajer) wife, Hannah, met a 16-month-old boy named Gift who had a swollen stomach because of malnutrition. He was in and out of the hospital because he was HIV+, a virus he contracted while he was in the womb. Hannah was stirred to visit Gift regularly. At one point, Gift’s health deteriorated to the point where there was a meeting to plan Gift’s funeral because his family was too poor to afford his burial. But eventually, Gift started to eat food, take his medication and regain his strength—what a miracle!
Sadly, while Gift was in the hospital, his mother passed away, and shortly after he got discharged, his father passed away too. Gift’s health began to decline again and it became too much for his grandma. Hannah sensed in her heart that we, as a family, needed to be disrupted and disturbed, so we fostered Gift and his two brothers for a few months. Suddenly, we went from three kids to six and it was tough! There was chaos in the home and even gum stuck to the window of my car (I know it was from Gift!), but there was also beauty.
For Gift’s birthday this year, we each shared what we like about Gift. Hannah said, “You know, Gift, you are one of my greatest teachers. You have taught me so much about bravery, about resilience.” Then, it dawned on me that this divine disruption was God’s way of sanctifying, not only Hannah, but also me.
Dear God, thank You for the beautiful disruption and disturbances in my life. While it may be difficult to navigate, I am thankful that You use it to deepen my walk with You. Praise You!
Hebrews 1
“When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
Some of us love to plan out every minute of our day and our goals in life. Yet, when we read Scripture, we will find that there were times when Christ was disturbed and disrupted. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus wept over His people and cried,
“…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings....” When Jesus chose to step down from heaven to come on earth and die on the cross for us, 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us, “…though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” We see this disrupted heart of God that is willing to come after us. As we consider God, who is willing to be disrupted and disturbed for us and be incarnated into this broken world, could it be that when we live in Him and His Spirit lives in us, He says to us, “Come, let Me disturb you, let Me disrupt your plans so that we can usher more people under My wings”?
A number of years ago, my (Farzam Mohajer) wife, Hannah, met a 16-month-old boy named Gift who had a swollen stomach because of malnutrition. He was in and out of the hospital because he was HIV+, a virus he contracted while he was in the womb. Hannah was stirred to visit Gift regularly. At one point, Gift’s health deteriorated to the point where there was a meeting to plan Gift’s funeral because his family was too poor to afford his burial. But eventually, Gift started to eat food, take his medication and regain his strength—what a miracle!
Sadly, while Gift was in the hospital, his mother passed away, and shortly after he got discharged, his father passed away too. Gift’s health began to decline again and it became too much for his grandma. Hannah sensed in her heart that we, as a family, needed to be disrupted and disturbed, so we fostered Gift and his two brothers for a few months. Suddenly, we went from three kids to six and it was tough! There was chaos in the home and even gum stuck to the window of my car (I know it was from Gift!), but there was also beauty.
For Gift’s birthday this year, we each shared what we like about Gift. Hannah said, “You know, Gift, you are one of my greatest teachers. You have taught me so much about bravery, about resilience.” Then, it dawned on me that this divine disruption was God’s way of sanctifying, not only Hannah, but also me.
Dear God, thank You for the beautiful disruption and disturbances in my life. While it may be difficult to navigate, I am thankful that You use it to deepen my walk with You. Praise You!