Why is this young man so representative of the message that you’re trying to convey? Most people know this story very well because it is so relatable on variety of different levels. I love the fact in your book that you spend a good amount of time on the story of the prodigal son. That there is a healing process that takes place when we do confess but it’s difficult to do, it’s a tough one. The book of James tells us that when we confess our sins, we’re healed. You voluntarily confess that you dragged something that was in the dark into the light. You actually sit across the table and you voluntarily confess. We now must confess it to a brother or sister in Christ. And then, this is where most of us stop under honesty. You tell Him what He already knows, but you acknowledge it the word “repent” most simply defined is to acknowledge. The second part of honesty is when you tell God the truth about yourself. It’s difficult to do, and yet for people who have done that and people who live that, it’s a very freeing way to live where you just are honest with yourself. So the idea here is that you look into the mirror, and you tell yourself the truth about yourself. “Honesty” is confession and repentance, but I think it’s helpful to think in terms of three spaces, that there is confession and repentance where we tell ourselves the truth about us about who we are, about what our sin has cost us just practically speaking. You have mentioned “awakening” but what about “honesty” and “action”? Could give you give me a couple of practical examples of how each one of those would work when we are having a crisis of faith? I think that’s often the case with AHA, that there is an awakening, but it tends to be in the midst of a difficult circumstance, a situation that we wouldn’t have chosen but in that moment of more desperation, we’re more likely to be dependent on God, we’re more likely to see some things. And so the Bible says sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. If it’s not unpleasant, we just keep sleeping. The nature of an alarm is that it’s unpleasant. There’s something that sounds and it gets our attention. I think a metaphor that accurately reflects that from scripture would be an alarm. I realize that you can’t really plan for this type of thing but what are some basic ways that we can experience an “AHA” moment in our spiritual lives?ĪHA stands for “awakening” “honesty” and “action.” The “awakening” moment is the moment where God gets our attention. I started keeping track of these a few years back and really study on them, and one of the things I discovered is that though the stories can be radically different, there are common elements to every story of spiritual transformation, and so AHA (the book)is meant to capture those consistent elements, the different pieces that God uses to bring about change in our lives. As a pastor, one of the things I’ve had the opportunity to do over the last 15 or 20 years is just hear lots and lots of stories of transformation and life change. Kyle, how would you define an “AHA” moment in relation to an individual’s faith?Īn “AHA” moment is a moment when God gets our attention that leads to lasting change. Cook Publishing), what advice he has for people who seem to be missing these moments, and why every person has a little bit of the prodigal son in them. I recently sat down with Kyle to discuss his latest book AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything (David C. You revel in the moment and move on.īut what if I said these moments could take you on a life-changing adventure toward being the person God intended you to be?ĭrawing from the lives of the prodigal son and King David, author/pastor Kyle Idleman believes that a process of awakening to a negative aspect in our lives, being honest about it, and then taking action can ultimately draw us closer to God and make our lives better. A more likely scenario is one of a sudden revelation about something that surprises you. These aren’t exactly the first three words you think of when you are having an “Ah-a” moment.
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