Don’t Miss the Calling: When God Interrupts Life to Reveal His Plan

I was speaking with some of my colleagues this week, as I prepare for my retirement from corporate America, I realize that there are moments in life when everything slows down, not because we chose rest, but because God pressed pause. For me, that moment came with a word no one ever expects to hear: cancer.

I have come to realize that what began as a physical diagnosis quickly became a spiritual awakening. I didn’t just confront my mortality, I confronted my priorities, my pace, and my purpose. Cancer didn’t come from God, but God used it. It forced me to ask the question many of us avoid until life shakes us awake: Am I living God’s plan, or just living busy? Sometimes God allows life to interrupt us, not to destroy us, but to realign us.

When God Uses Crisis to Clarify Calling

Scripture reminds us that God is never improvising with our lives.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Yet many believers, like me may have miss God’s plan, not because it doesn’t exist, but because it gets crowded out by ambition, comfort, routine, or fear. However, cancer stripped away the illusion that I had unlimited time. Suddenly, what mattered most became crystal clear: Was I fully surrendered to what God called me to do or was I postponing obedience? This reminded of something I once heard that “The greatest tragedy is not unanswered prayers, but unanswered callings.”

You Can Be Saved and Still Sidestep Your Assignment

One of the most sobering realizations I had was this: You can love God, believe in Christ, and still drift from your divine assignment.

The Apostle Paul understood this tension well:

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” ~ Philippians 3:12

Calling requires pursuit. It requires intention. It requires listening when God whispers, and obedience when He nudges. Cancer quieted the noise long enough for me to hear God clearly again. And that God’s calling doesn’t expire, but it can be delayed by distraction.

Redeemed Time, Renewed Purpose

One of the most powerful lessons God impressed on my heart during that season came from Paul’s words:

“Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” ~ Ephesians 5:15–16

I took this personally, and for me time suddenly became sacred. Every conversation mattered. Every prayer deepened. And every moment carried weight. I began to understand that God wasn’t asking me to do more, He was calling me to do what mattered most. And I’ve learned that when your life is interrupted, don’t rush to escape, ask God what He’s revealing.

Don’t Miss God’s Plan While Waiting for a Better Season

Many people assume they’ll step into God’s calling later:

• When things slow down

• When the kids are grown

• When retirement comes

• When the timing feels safer

But Scripture reminds us:

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” ~ Hebrews 3:15

Cancer reminded me that later is not promised, but obedience is always available now. It stripped away the illusion that I had unlimited time and exposed how easily purpose can be postponed. It taught me that delayed obedience is not caution, it is cost. And it awakened in me a renewed urgency to live fully aligned with what God has called me to do today, not someday I see it this way that delayed obedience is often disguised as wisdom, but God calls it disobedience.

Your Testimony Is Part of Your Calling

I didn’t walk through cancer just to survive it. I walked through it to serve differently, lead more intentionally, and speak more boldly about God’s faithfulness. The Bible reads in Revelation 12:11 that “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”  I’ve learned that:

Your pain is not wasted.

Your struggle is not random.

Your survival is not accidental.

God doesn’t just heal us, He positions us. He restores us so we can stand where we once could not and speak with authority we did not previously have. What the enemy meant to silence us, God redeems as a platform for testimony and impact. Our healing becomes a doorway through which others find hope, courage, and faith to believe again. My brother often tell me that good things fall apart, so better things can happen.

A Final Encouragement

If you are reading this and life has interrupted you, through illness, loss, disappointment, burnout, or an unexpected detour, pause before you rush forward. Not every interruption is an obstacle; some are invitations. God often speaks most clearly when the noise of life is quieted, and the illusion of control is stripped away.

Scripture reminds us that God is always near in these moments: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” ~Psalm 34:18 Before you ask God to remove the difficulty, ask Him what He is revealing through it. Pain has a way of surfacing truths we would otherwise ignore, about our priorities, our dependence, and our willingness to trust God fully. Seasons of shaking are not meant to destroy our faith, but to deepen it.

So, take inventory of your heart. Ask yourself where you have delayed obedience, where fear has muted your faith, or where comfort has replaced calling. Then respond, not with perfection, but with surrender. Because when God calls, He does not ask for perfection, He asks for availability. And availability, offered in faith, can transform a life, and through that life, countless others.