What Do You Do With The Interruption?

Business is busy. That may seem obvious, but for anyone in a leadership position in business, it can be a big problem. We are always working on something. Some projects require very little focus from us. Others require our complete attention. That is usually when the interruption comes, right?

Forms Of Interruption

For me, this “interruption” could come in the form of a customer asking a simple question. It could be an employee that needs clarification on a process. Maybe it is phone call from a vendor that needs my authorization on an expenditure.

Interruptions can come in many shapes and sizes. When we are intently focused on getting something important done, how do we handle the interruption? I am not really asking about your manners or patience with the cause of the interruption.

The Bigger Question

The question I am asking is much bigger than that. We all know that we should be gracious and approachable when interrupted. That’s not my point.

The real question is more about your mindset regarding the interruption. In fact, I am actually asking about the bigger interruptions in your plans. To be more clear, let’s look at an example from Scripture.

Paul’s Interruption

Paul is on a mission. He has been called by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Anyone who has read any of his letters in the New Testament would agree that he was focused on this mission. Nothing deterred him from accomplishing the mission.

Then we read in Philippians 1 that Paul has been put in jail. Imagine that you are in his sandals and you have this mission in front of you. This is a big “project” with huge ramifications for those you seek to teach about this gospel. Then you find yourself in jail…for no real good reason! How could this happen?

How Would You See It?

Would you see THIS as an interruption? Would you get frustrated at the injustice and start trying to figure out how to escape? Would you lose focus on the overall goal and become preoccupied with your circumstances?

What did Paul do? Well, he uses the time wisely and continues to accomplish the mission God gave him. He does this in several ways.

Paul’s Response

First, he uses the time to write four letters to various churches (and one individual). In these letters, Paul encourages, chastises, and teaches about the gospel. He made very effective use of his time in prison to continue his mission to spread the gospel!

Second, he took advantage of the fact that he was imprisoned by Gentiles! He likely saw a number of different guards each day as they fed him and guarded him. He used this time to witness to these guards and explain to them the cause of Christ!

Paul even recognized that others were preaching more boldly about Jesus as a result of his imprisonment. While some had pure motives and others did not, Paul welcomed any accurate preaching of the gospel as helping to accomplish his mission.

What About Us?

Paul tells us to follow his example (1 Corinthians 11:1). If we do this, how can we handle the interruptions that come our way? Not only the little daily interruptions, but even more so the big ones?

When we have big plans for ministry through our business and something interrupts these plans, how can we react in a way that imitates Paul? Can we reasonably expect to stop and pray that God would reveal that part of His plan to us?

If He chooses not to reveal His plans, can we patiently look around at our circumstances and determine how to continue our mission despite the interruption? Is our eternal perspective so ingrained in our mind that we could adapt to the circumstances and maximize the opportunities they presented?

How Close Are We?

Are we so close in our relationship with God that this behavior is possible?

If not, what are we going to do to change?

I encourage you to stop and pray about this. As business owners and leaders, we are normally trained to overcome the circumstances of any interruption and move on with the mission. We are problem solvers and have wiring that keeps us moving.

Instead, sometimes we need to recognize that God may want us to sit still and look for His will IN the interruption. If we will draw closer to Him, it is more likely we will be able to do this when the time comes.

How good are you with handling an interruption?

Do you see interruptions as potentially coming from God?

What do you need to do differently?