Moments Created by ‘Suddenly’

I hope you had a blessed Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year.  

Allow me to share a ‘moment’ in my life and ministry that I will never forget. When I say moment, I mean a particular moment in someone’s life or a development they will positively never forget. I love moments because they come from unexpected sudden events in our lives. 

Such was the case for me in April 2024. Pastor Lawrence Powell asked me to share at Agape Family Worship Center in Rahway, New Jersey. My ministry on Saturday was about leadership. It’s called How Learners Become Leaders. 

I spoke to over 1200 people on Sunday morning about turning churchgoers into city changers from my Made for Monday series. In the middle of my message, with no provocation from me, people stirred by the revelation of the message came running down the middle of the two aisles, throwing money at my feet while I spoke. As I continued talking, more people came, not walking but running, throwing more money at my feet. 

It was a moment that came from a spontaneous ‘suddenly.’ I had never experienced anything like this in my 44 years of ministry. I felt like the early apostles, where people came and laid money at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:35-37) The money wasn’t the issue. What I loved was how the whole crowd responded to the message. As a thought leader and speaker, that is what I live for. This occasion was a God-moment in their lives and a moment in my life. I just happened to be the messenger of God’s message.  

Since we have recently experienced the Christmas season, I’d like to use the Christmas story as an example of moments emanating from a ‘suddenly.’ God sometimes uses this pattern to help us wake up, shake up, and put on our makeup. Moments are announcements from God to use as mental pillars in our lives to help us remember that God is still alive, alert, and at work in our lives. Moments like these allow us to see Jesus in a way we have never seen Jesus before.  

The first Christmas day was a new, high-impact venture accented by spectacular incidents that suddenly created moments in time, history, and redemption. Mind-numbing prophecies about the world's Savior are fulfilled in the fullness of time. God’s people had been waiting for thousands of years. Suddenly, it was time for the moment of promise-keeping. God knew old keys wouldn’t open new doors. Grace, forgiveness, and mercy came suddenly and triumphed over judgment. This moment in human history changed everything.

Consider the concept of moments and ‘suddenly’ on the first Christmas. I’m using Bible verses where the word suddenly is implied or used. Mary and Joseph were betrothed, and suddenly, an angel appeared to Mary. Mary was found to be with a child, causing Joseph to contemplate what to do, and suddenly, the same angel appeared to Joseph. The shepherds were tending their flocks and suddenly, angels appeared to those shepherds, bringing good news of great joy. Three wise men far away from the east were stargazing, and suddenly, a star appeared in the east. All of these sudden appearances didn’t make sense at first.

The ‘suddenly’ that precedes the moment reminds me of the story in Matthew 14 and John 6 when Jesus told his twelve disciples to board the boat and row to the other side of the lake. In the middle of the night, halfway across the lake, the disciples encountered an intense storm. As the sea tossed about in the boat, the disciples were scared to death. 

Suddenly, around 3:00 AM, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost or something sinister. But Jesus calmed the storm after the disciples welcomed him onboard. Then the Bible says, “and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” So, one moment, the 12 disciples and Jesus were two miles from shore and, in a nanosecond, suddenly and immediately, they were at the beach. That’s called time travel, and most people miss this miracle. God compensates for the delay by supernaturally getting you back on schedule.  

Perhaps you can relate to this. Here’s my advice. Keep rowing to the other side. Row in the face of the financial problem. Row in the face of the marriage challenge, row against those contrary winds in your ministry or education because if you are not getting closer to the breakthrough, Jesus could be getting closer to your boat. Keep looking for Him in the contradiction and challenges of contrary winds and big waves that don’t make sense until your ‘suddenly’ appears.

If you’re a Christian, pray to God and say, “You told the 12 disciples to go to the other side; You told me what to do also, and I am only doing what You told me to do.” Like the disciples, your delayed transition may position you for a manifestation of Jesus in a way you have never seen before. It’s not a ghost or something sinister. It’s an opportunity for you to get closer to Jesus if you invite him into your boat and keep rowing. It opens the door to a moment.  

I hope every one of you has a life-changing, uplifting moment caused by a ‘suddenly’ in 2025. As I said two weeks ago, you were only waiting for this moment to arrive, and when your moment comes, your faith will also arrive.