Getting It Right The First Time. The Missed Appointments That You Can Never Recover

Nothing can be more frustrating than missing a moment. Even worse when it is the kind of opportunity that marks the deal of a lifetime. Have you ever had that kind of experience? Have you ever been positioned to achieve something great or significant and for whatever reason, somehow you missed your cue? Maybe you responded the wrong way, or talked out of turn. Maybe you forgot about the appointment. Maybe you weren’t paying close attention. Maybe you didn’t know what to do and you were operating with limited knowledge about the situation, or perhaps, maybe you knew but chose to do your own thing.I have had those moments when doors that I had been praying for were opened right before my eyes and somehow I missed walking through them because I wasn’t fully prepared. At other times I have had doors open up for me and I didn’t walk through because it was not like what I had envisioned.

Whatever the reason, sometimes we do miss appointments and are fortunate enough to secure a second, even a third chance at getting it right. But there are those moments that are really once in a lifetime opportunities and if we are unfortunate enough to miss those kinds of trains, recovery is oftentimes, always impossible. Sometimes a missed opportunity may never ever present itself a second time around. The old cliche we so often love to rehearse, that “God is a God of second chances” is not always true. This religious ideology has sent many souls to a place of eternal damnation and separation from God, and has been the cause for the purpose and destiny of so many others being short-circuited.

Detailed in our Manual for Living, in the Book of 1 Samuel 13, an account is given of one such instance. Here we see King Saul falling into the snare of initiating a war he neither had the man-power or the resources needed to secure and sustain victory, and worse, failing to follow the established protocol of consulting with the priest for God’s directives before undertaking a major governmental move of this magnitude. By the time he positioned himself to doing things the right way, it was too late. Not only had he not consulted with God first, he also assumed the role of the priest by undertaking a task that was not within his jurisdiction. When Samuel the priest finally showed up where Saul and his fragmented army was stationed, his comments to the King left me with chills and caused me to seriously begin reflecting on my own life and my way of doing things; whether I was violating protocols and whether I at times operate in direct rebellion or indifference to God’s instructions or His prescribed way for doing things.

Samuel’s statement to Saul (vs. 13 to 14) was this, “That was a fool thing to do. If you had kept the appointment that your God commanded, by now God would have set a firm and lasting foundation under your kingly rule over Israel. As it is, your kingly rule is already falling to pieces. God is out looking for your replacement right now. This time he’ll do the choosing. When he finds him, he’ll appoint him leader of his people. And all because you did not keep your appointment with God!”

Woooow! God had had a plan in place to establish and secure Saul’s position as King over Israel. It was in His mind to bless and to prosper Saul. But in that one moment of folly, of leaning to his own misguided understanding, that one act of disobedience, of ignoring the established protocol, Saul’s destiny was permanently altered. Did God ever change His mind concerning this pronouncement against Saul? No He did not. In-fact, if you read the succeeding chapters you will find that when Saul made the attempt to reach out to God for His direction regarding the next course of action that he Saul needed to take, the Manual says that God did not respond at all. It was too late. Saul’s end, from that day on was imminent. He never recovered and in the end he lost his throne to some unimportant kid whose job was to shovel sheep dung. That kid’s name was David.

Right at this moment you might be on a course, a pathway that if you do not choose to correct, could cost you big time! It could cost you your peace, your joy, your integrity, your name, your reputation, your purpose, even a promise that you have been waiting to see manifest for a very long time. It could cost you your job, your business, your marriage, a relationship, an awesome opportunity, a divine appointment. Your rejection or continued rejection of the instructions that come directly from your Manufacturer could cost you your life.

Let me challenge you to take some time to examine yourself. If you are walking or living in error, you need to repent. Repentance means to “change your way of thinking”. There is a way of thinking that seems right to humans, but that way, if independent of God, will always lead to loss, death and destruction. I want to see you spared from ever having to experience one of these moments. A moment in which you’ve missed an opportunity or an appointment that never ever presents itself again. I want to see you get it right the first time, every-time. Always be prepared and always be ready to build your life in sync with the principles and patterns established by your Master Manufacturer. It is your guarantee and your warranty for good success. Shalom

Visit the Podcast Series tab or the Podbean Podcast page to access the associate podcast segment entitled: “Getting It Right The First Time. The Missed Appointments You Can Never Recover”.