The Crisis Moment

Talk is cheap, as the saying goes. Talking is so much easier than doing...believe me, I know. I'm thinking specifically about temptation. Resolution, determination, prayer, study, knowledge...all of these things are great, but it all boils down to one moment when you make a decision. The crisis moment.

Let me give you a bad example. Aaron, the brother of Moses, had everything going for him....confidence, courage, respect, talent. He was a good public speaker. God used him to show His power to Pharaoh. He basically slapped Pharaoh in the face by throwing down his staff, which turned into a snake and actually ate the other snakes that Pharaoh's magicians had conjured. He was the right hand man to one of the greatest leaders in world history. Moses would tell him what to say, he would say it, and God would be glorified. It seemed that he had it all!

But then Aaron faced his crisis moment (Exodus 32). When his little brother went up the mountain to talk to God and receive the Law, the people at the bottom of the mountain became restless. "Get up....make us gods to go before us. We don't know what has happened to Moses." What do you do, Aaron? He got up and made them a golden calf.


What?! Have you lost your mind, Aaron? No...he lost his guts. After he presented the golden calf, he said, Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord (Yahweh...not Blue Bell the golden calf he just made). He tried to have his steak and eat it too! 

There are other examples like Aaron. Eve and the serpent, David and Bathsheba, Pontius Pilate, Samson and Delilah...even Moses hitting the rock. Good examples could be Joseph and Potiphar's wife, the apostles vs. the Sanhedrin, and, of course, Jesus. But it suffices to say that even good people can make horrible, costly mistakes. This is no excuse but a warning. How will we do in our crisis moment? 

• What will you say when the gun is pointed at your head, demanding you renounce Jesus? (classic example, not quite realistic [yet] in the U.S., but what about the following...)
• What will you do when a man or woman (that is, someone NOT your spouse) begins flirting with you?
• What will you do when you've had a rotten day, fought traffic, the car broke down, money is tight, people are jerks, the front door is stuck, and the cat won't get out from under you?

Get down on your knees and pray to God for enabling strength to love Him in the hardest moments and to follow the example of Jesus, who would not give in to the smallest pleasure because He trusted, followed, and desired His Father more than anyone or anything else.