Articles
Heart Sinking Moments
Have you ever had that heart sinking moment? That moment when everything stopped? That moment you knew you had really messed up?. That moment you realized there was no undoing what had just been done? Consider a few of the people who had those moments.
I wonder if King Saul felt this way? He tells Samuel, “I have performed the commandment of the Lord” (1Sam. 15:13). Did he expect Samuel to say, “Good job! I knew you would do it!” Oops! That is not what Samuel said. Samuel said, “If you have performed the commandment of the Lord, then what is this bleating of the sheep in my ear and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Samuel tells him to be quiet and he would tell him what the Lord told him. Saul said, “I did what I was supposed to do. I utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” Oops! Another mistake. He spared Agag, the king. Rather than own up to his mistake Saul sought to explain away his moment of failure. Saul blames the people (1 Samuel 15:21). It is just easier to blame others rather than accept personal responsibility.
Consider Haman, oh how he despised Mordecai. Mordecai had a little honorary in him. He refuses to bow to Haman. Everybody is bowing but not Mordecai. Haman thought he had a fail proof scheme to get not only Mordecai but all the loathsome Jews as well. He had convinced Ahasuerus to sign a decree which would have obliterated every Jew. Haman was so proud of his pride. He has visions of victory in his eyes, but then he is exposed. He hangs by the gallows he built for Mordecai. And rather than hang, Mordecai is promoted to be second only to Ahasuerus. Haman thought he was coming to dinner to celebrate his achievement but instead he is condemned to hang by his own gallows. Pride is so self-destructive. Rather than having his moment in history, he became a moment in history. Those like Haman will always hang themselves. That is the way pride works.
Also, think about the seven sons of Sceva. They have been watching the unusual miracles at the hand of Paul. They wanted some of what he had. Paul would always call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Ah! That is the formula. They have been saying the wrong thing. So they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus but, rather than exercise demons as Paul had been doing, the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know and Paul I know; but who are you” (Acts 19:13-15)? The seven sons may have missed it, but the evil spirits knew who Paul was and why he had been successful. Now that moment! “Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” No, things certainly did not go the way they had planned. Talk about a moment of failure.
It has been said, “Failure is but for a moment but it is never a permanent end of life.” Well, for these it was. It does not have to be though. As surely as there is that moment of failure, that moment when we realize,” I have really messed up,” so is there that moment of clarity in which we realize we can be saved. Failure can be permanent or it can be for a moment--depending on how we respond to the grace of God.
Rickie
