I once heard a standup comic talking about his work. He spoke about the kinds of moments he wants to achieve in a comedy routine. He wants his routine to be full of “Ha-ha” moments, when people laugh at his humor – and the humor becomes contagious...“Ha-ha-ha.” But he also wants to achieve one or two “Ah-ha!” moments during his act. “Ah-ha! Now I see!” Any comedian can get a few laughs if he’s any good, but to aim for a couple of “Ah-ha!” moments is far more ambitious and far more profound, isn’t it.
An “Ah-ha!” moment....is when the light bulb goes on above your head and you understand something in a fresh way or for the first time, and all your thinking about a
particular subject changes, and new opinions are formed.
Speaking of light bulbs coming on.... How many country and western / southern gospel singers does it take to change a light bulb?....Five ... one to change the light bulb and a quartet to sing about how much they long and whine for the old one in the good old days ...
How many are needed to help a pastor to change a light bulb? We will never know, because everyone fell asleep during the sermon. How many does it
take to help a politician to change a light bulb? We'll never know, because when he says it needs to be changed, no one ever believes him...
How many Fantasy Fest goers does it take to change a light bulb? How dare you be so intolerant! So what if the light bulb HAS chosen an alternative light style?
Let’s get some of the definitions that are available to us for a light changing moment....or otherwise known as a “defining moment’....
It is an experience or occurrence that effects and determines all related events that follow....
It is the point at which a situation is clearly
seen to start a shift and change things as they were before....
It is a point at which the essential nature or character of a person, or group is revealed or
clearly identified... It is also referred to as “Turning points, deciding moments, a crossroads event, the boiling point, a breakthrough, being on the brink, coming of age, crunch time, put up or shut up, the threshold, a landmark event, make-or-break time, do or die, a milestone moment, the moment of truth, the flashpoint, high noon, the point of no return, sink or swim, red-letter day, a watershed moment, an epiphany, and zero hour...
We’ve all experienced those times, when life just doesn’t make sense. You look around and you think, “What in the world am I doing with my life? Where is God when I need Him the most? Does God even care about what is going on in my life?”
But then, as you journey down the road, something happens that makes us say, “Oh. THAT’S what God was doing there and Ah Ha, that’s what He was doing then!” And suddenly, it made sense. God was at work after all. We’ve all had moments like that. Each Christmas season we celebrate the courage and dedication of the wise men from the East, who followed the star, not fully understanding all that it truly meant in it’s broader scope...
We are on the journey of learning, after all—just like those travelers from the East, we don’t always get our heads around all that is happening, or even what is explained to us, but we follow our inner compass, and we keep moving forward on the journey... and, occasionally on the path, we have moments of enlightenment. The wise men experienced their epiphany as suddenly the star stood still over the manger where the Prince of Peace lay in a manger bed.
So, now, Let’s make it personal....I pose a couple of questions for you to reflect upon. “What would it take for you to venture forth into the darkness? What is it that would so
steal your heart that would send you into a strange place in search of it? What do you hope to find on the path of your life? What is the star that you are following? What is guiding your path? What is it that you could feel so deeply about, that you would be willing to leave the comfort of your home
and all things familiar to find?”. To Abraham, it was a God moment, when God told a man who had no children that he would be the father of many nations. And Abraham was ushered into a supernatural walk with God, where the impossible was made possible....
To Jacob, it was a night of wrestling with God, a night when running from his destiny, being a prisoner of his fears, and trying to do it in his own strength, came
to an end and he surrendered to the vision of God and was given a new name, a new direction and a new future.... To Paul the Apostle, it was the Damascus road experience...