Defining Moments

Defining Moments

Romans 8:28-30

August 24, 2014

Morning Service

Life is made up of a series of moments. Some good, some bad and some we rarely think about. Life is simply a series of the daily random events that take place. It seems like most of those moments slip into the void of history and they make little or no impact on the way we live the rest of our moments. Then there are moments that define the remaining moments that we have and they change the way that we experience the new moments in life. These defining moments change the fabric of our lives and they redefine us. Maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about and maybe one of those moments came to mind just now. The reality is that we all have those kinds of moments that reshape the reality of our lives.

These moments may surround an event or a decision. Maybe they are enveloped in happenings that we caused or things that were beyond our control. Some might call them fate, chance, happy random accidents or simply coincidence that changed us. Sometimes we think they are events that happen just by luck or the lack of luck. Somehow all of the stars aligned at just the right time and everything clicked. Perish the thought because there is no such thing as luck or bad luck. There is no mystical reality with planets coming together and things just happen at random.

No every moment of our life has come together at the work of all powerful and all-knowing God who rules the universe. Defining moments come directly from the hand of the almighty. God is at work in the good, the bad and the ugly moments of our lives shaping us into the kind of people that He can use. How on earth can this be? How can God be at work in everything? We can easily see His hand at work in the good things in life. We can easily see how God is working in the moments that we cherish. We can see God in those things that we like but rarely do we see God in the difficulties of life until we are through them.

Let’s take a few moments to think about some defining moments that fill the pages of the Bible.

* Noah deciding to actually build the Ark

* Abraham making the decision to follow God to a new land

* Moses encountering God at the burning bush

* Daniel facing the lion’s den

* Peter hearing the call of Jesus to come follow me

* Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus following the resurrection

* The coming of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room

* Saul of Tarsus being face to face with Jesus

These are just a few of the various moments that happened in the pages of scripture and maybe our moments are not as dramatic but they impact us in similar ways. We all have moments that help to reshape us into the people Christ desires us to become.

* The moment that you accepted Christ

* The moment you lost a loved one

* The moment a relationship started or ended

* The moment you discovered an illness

* The moment you got a new job or lost one

* The moment you moved to a new area

Defining moments all have one thing in common, they bring change and they leave us different than we were before. Sometimes the difference is minimal and sometimes the difference is vast. The good moments are easy to take and in fact, we often welcome them but what about those moments that are anything but good? What about the moments in life that we would say are just downright bad? What do we do in those moments?

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30

God works through the various moments of our lives to bring us to maturity. God desires for us to grow in our faith to be more devoted disciples of Jesus. He directs us in our relationship with Him so that we might be able to draw closer to God. The reality of life is simple, we will either draw closer to God during difficult times or we will pull away from God during those times.

Sadly, many people struggle in life and the first thing to go is church. Paul makes it clear that everything in life happens to direct us toward becoming more like Jesus. Every experience helps us to grow in God’s grace. We need to understand that life should help us become more and more like Jesus. Many misunderstand the point that Paul is making here. Paul is not saying that everything works out and that we won’t have problems. Instead, God brings something good out of everything we go through.