DEFINING MOMENTS

Today, I write to talk to you about something very vital, helpful and urgent. I pray you dedicate some minutes of your time to read this piece. It will bless you big, I promise you!

From time to time, in our lives, it becomes so necessary to halt on the activities, rush, noise, etc. in order to listen to our selves, define our values again in the light of God’s Word and so make informed decisions. And as simple as this may seem, it is what defines who we are and who we would eventually turn out to be in life. Defining moments are those moments we set aside to call things what they really are and see things the way they truly are. The Word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? --unless indeed you are disqualified.” (NKJV). You see, decisions are so vital to us daily that we just make them, sometimes without even premeditating on their consequences. Every decision has its consequence – what it delivers in return – whether good or bad. Most of the time, the state in which we were when we made a decision determines the quality of decision we make and the consequences thereof. For us as Believers in Jesus Christ, this is very important because if we can learn to listen to our spirit man, we would foresee certain things and events and as a result make informed decisions by the Help of the Holy Spirit who resides in us.

The Lord Jesus had defining moments during His time on earth. He always had moments when He was just alone with the Father – different from His time of prayer and study. I believe He virtually drew His strengthen from those moments that He had to stay away from the crowd to listen to His heart and the heart of the Father. Having defining moments is not an option for people who want to step into the fullness of God’s plans and purpose for their lives. It brings about an unusually focus, direction and progress. There was something about the life of Jesus on earth. He was a wonder to everyone He came in contact with. He had a word for everyone He met. He had a solution for every problem He encountered. He was always on top of circumstances. He was simply in charge! When men met Him, they were changed. Just something about His life! But of course, these things did not just happen. They happened because He cared enough to step out from the crowd from time to time to get things straight. Friends, you know as much as I do that this world is a noisy place – full of distraction – and if we’re not careful we’d lose what we’ve got in a bid to achieve much. Before the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He had a defining moment at the Garden of Gethsemane where He settled it once and for all that He will fulfil His purpose – the death on the cross – no matter what! Jesus is not just the Son of God but He is the pattern-Son of God. We must follow His example to please the Father.

In order to get the best out of our defining moments, we must ensure that the following are considered during defining moment:

1. Check your motives – why do you do what you do, are you a ‘man pleaser’ or a God pleaser? Are you doing things for love sake or for selfish reasons?
2. Ask yourself the right questions.
3. Be sincere with yourself – just tell yourself the truth about you even if it hurts.
4. Give yourself a sincere evaluation of how far you’ve gone in fulfilling God’s dream (purpose) for your life on earth.
5. Be sure you’re alone with the Holy Spirit.
6. Just think, write and pray – nothing else! You might also want to fast during those moments. Please do, it will help greatly!
7. It is so important you pray in preparation for those moments because God must be involved in it if it must be worth the while.

With these things rightly in place, you’re sure to always come out a different and better person than you went in. The Word of God actually says that we should judge ourselves so that we will not be judged (1Cor. 11:31) and that is one of the things defining moments will help us to do. Note, it didn’t say for us to condemn ourselves but to judge (discern, evaluate or weigh) ourselves. So when we do it properly, it improves the quality of our lives and service to God.

How often should we have defining moments? This could be done as often as possible especially when at the point of making major decisions that affect our lives. For instance, Jesus had it just before going to the cross, Abraham had it before taking Isaac to the mountain to sacrifice him in obedience to God, Jacob had it before going to meet (reconcile with) his brother – Esau. For me, apart from other times I set aside to re-define things in my life, I find my birthdays the best days for it. Reality dawns on me the most on that day of the year. I ask myself questions like “having spent so and so years on earth, what’s my life really worth for the Lord and His Kingdom? Am I really fulfilling purpose on a daily basis?” etc. I know it doesn’t have to be the same for you but whatever time it is, be sure to get the best out of it. I believe that the Lord gets the best of our attention and speaks to us during defining moments. In fact, one thing you’ll never miss during defining moments is the voice of God! The Holy Spirit will speak expressly to you if you’re sincere and open to Him!

There is one thing we must do which would enable us to have the right definition in life on a daily basis. This all important thing is seen in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ during His time here on earth. We see that in Mark 1:35 which says “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (NKJV). If we would simply get ourselves to do this everyday, everyday will be purposeful, fulfilling and well maximized to the glory of God. Friend, let’s not waste our time here on earth. Everyday, hour, minute, second, micro second matter and must matter to us as they matter to the Father. Hope this helps. Blessings!