When God ‘Interrupts’ Our Plans

Do you live by your calendar? Your to-do list? Do you enjoy having the days, weeks, and years planned out because it gives you a sense of control over your life? Having a plan is great – as long as you don’t ignore the plans that the Lord has for you. Because if you read the Scriptures, you’ll notice that God often interrupts the plans of those He calls.

Father Daniel Schuster, Vocations Director for the Diocese of Green Bay, stopped by The Inner Life™ recently to talk about following the will of God, and how God interrupts our lives with His plans.

Drawing on his experience as a vocations director, Fr. Schuster said, “A vocation is a great interruption into what you thought the will of God was. But then you learn that the will of God is not just a concept or an answer to a prayer. It’s a person who wants to lead you somewhere.”

Fr. Schuster and host Chuck Neff discussed how following God’s plan instead of our own should take us out of our comfort zone. While our own plans may keep us mired in mediocrity, or sliding into laziness, following the will of God should inspire us to grow, to travel the path to greatness.

“If you have not been interrupted by Jesus lately, you’re probably doing something wrong,” said Fr. Schuster. “You’re not paying attention to something. He’s always leading to the Kingdom, He’s always redefining, uprooting, and interrupting. So if that hasn’t happened lately, if you’re just coasting along, thinking you’ve got this figured out and under control, that’s probably a dangerous spot to be. Somebody wants to come and talk to you.”

So how can we be sure that we are following the will of God – allowing the Lord to interrupt our plans if He chooses? The answer, as usual, starts with prayer.

“Ask Jesus to come and interrupt you,” suggested Fr. Schuster. He even suggested this simple prayer: ‘Come and interrupt me. Come and tell me what I’m missing, Lord, like you did to the people in the Gospel.’

Listen to the conversation below:

The Inner Life airs weekdays at noon Eastern/9:00 a.m. Pacific on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.

Stephanie Foley serves as a Digital Media Producer at Relevant Radio®. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she studied journalism, and she has worked in Catholic radio for 12 years. Stephanie is a wife, a mother of three boys, and in her free time she enjoys reading, running, and really good coffee. You can find more of Stephanie’s writing at relevantradio.com and on the free Relevant Radio mobile app.