Made for This Moment: Courage for Today . . . (Thomas Nelson, 2021)
You Were Made for This Moment: Courage for Today and Hope for Tomorrow is the latest book from Max Lucado. Max currently serves as Teaching Minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. Early in the first chapter, Pastor Lucado poses this pivotal question: When did you first realize life wasn’t going to turn out the way you thought? Because in a wintry season, your world turns into an arctic circle of dark days, long nights, and bitter weather. However, to those yearning for a sign of hope, God beckons us to follow Him and see what He can do. God, the King of quiet providence, invites us to partner with Him in His work. For God’s solutions come through people of courage. People, who by God’s grace, believe God created them for this moment.
Therefore, as a saint of the living God living out your faith, you deliver Jesus into a faith-famished culture. Made for this moment, God’s people stand out and assist Him in a godless society. Above all, God gives you the courage to stand for what is right. Because living as a person of faith in a faithless world requires courage as well as acts of resistance. But, Max cautions, the time to resist temptation comes before it strikes. And when you stand up for God, He’ll stand up for you. After all, no problem ever befuddles, bewilders, or threatens God. Like a mosquito to a hurricane. problems are no match. Thus, there’s no question about God prevailing. The question – Will you join the team?
Consequently, Pastor Lucado exhorts, see challenges as the occasion to join God in His work. Life intersects with such opportunities to come alongside the holy work of God. Also, there’s no simpler, more important way to partner with God in bringing about a reversal than heartfelt prayer. In addition, you’re ready to fight any king on earth once you’ve spoken to the King of heaven. God, not the devil, is in the details. He works in small moments. When you join hands with God, oppression hides in the corner while justice finds oxygen. Hence, we must do more than long for justice. For God calls us to be creators of justice. Therefore, it’s a holy thing to restore human dignity.
In conclusion, Max counsels, set your eyes on the author of your salvation. To stay in the game, chose the path of faith. Most significantly, the confusion and crisis in your current season of struggle become tomorrow’s conquest. So, meditate less on the mess, more on the Master. Believe that God’s active, even when He appears hidden. Max summarizes why you were made for this moment:
“God is in the middle of this. . . . This uphill struggle. This cold, fierce headwind you are facing. You feel overwhelmed. Weary. Ill-equipped to weather it. But lift up your eyes. . . . [Your Father] is in this moment with you. Who knows but that you have been chosen for such a time like this?”
