In ministry I experience things referred to as “God moments.” These are special moments when the heart of an individual is especially tender towards the things of the Lord.
The thing about a God moment is it doesn’t last for long….
Which is sadly something I forgot Saturday
There is an unsaved friend who I’ve been sharing Christ with for a few years. He’s incredibly close to accepting the Lord, but not quite there yet. Last Saturday he came by to visit, and I knew that he had something on his mind.
He told me a story about riding a motorbike when he was young and getting into a wreck. The wreck itself should have resulted in some serious injuries, but he ended up walking out of the hospital. A cousin who he’d been with reminded him of the story.
My friend was deeply burdened remember that story, and kept saying “God must have kept me alive for a reason!”
We talked about the Gospel, and his need for Christ. He knew this was needed, but said “something is holding me back.” I explained that is Satan, because he doesn’t want anybody to be saved.
After talking some more it became clear the Lord was really dealing with his heart. So I encouraged him to pray and think about what the devil was doing to keep him from Salvation. We were supposed to meet Tuesday, so I was fully expecting him to accept the Lord then.
That was a mistake…….
Tuesday ended up being cancelled till Thursday, and then our busy schedules didn’t allow for much time in our weekly Bible study.
The God moment was gone!
I thought a lot about our conversation last Saturday this week. In a way, it was wise to allow the Holy Spirit to continue working on his life so that my friend could choose Salvation in that moment. But more importantly, a very important moment when he was thinking seriously about eternity was squandered.
I came to the conclusion waiting was a mistake….one that by Gods grace I won’t make again.
Satan loves to tell us we have plenty of time, that the God moment is going to last, so we can challenge them to accept Him later. The thing is he is lying in these situations, and we forget just how quickly God moments pass.
Though I’m frustrated about missing this opportunity, I’m thankful that the Lord has reminded me just what a precious moment God moments are. And they must always be treated with the utmost seriousness.
Johnhwilburn.org 