In The Moment

My friend told me that he had messed up and cheated on his wife.  I felt like I couldn't breathe.  It wasn't supposed to happen . . . to those kind of people  . . .  they seemed perfect.  People envied them.  What could I say, really?

I listened.  His only explanation was that he got caught up in the moment.  Caught up in the moment?  That's it?  I wanted to say, "Wait--a moment--you don't have another reason?  Think of something else.  You can't possibly think that being caught up in the moment is reason enough."

Since then, years later, I have realized it happens.  Anyone can do something in one moment that they regret the rest of their life.  It is what happens to broken people.  It is as if we forget there is more to life than that one moment.   Now, I respond, with less surprise and more understanding.  Yes.  There are consequences that will change the course of life.  But.  A moment, or more, does not need to define the rest of our life.

With God,  all things are possible.  I know from experience, in my own personal life and as a pastor, I have seen what God can do with our weakest and most stupid moments.  God has a different course for those who admit to their brokenness and their need for Him. Consider what happens when we live in the power of God's grace rather than in the power of our weakness:

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9, NASB).

The power of God's grace is ongoing and sufficient, taking all the moments we have been caught up in . . . the weakness . . . the stupidity . . . even the things which wreck and ruin lives . . . to strengthen, heal, and change us. That said, God's grace is not cheap and is not to be used as an escape clause, but a gift to be received.  The moments of life change when they are lived through the power of grace.

Take a moment. Realize God has something more through the power of Christ in you.  God's grace is sufficient.  Period.
With God, all things are possible.
Focus on what God will do through you in one moment by His grace.

Learning to Kickstart the day in the sufficiency of the grace of God,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)