Have You Had a 2/13 Moment?

By Gobel Brockman


Saturday, February 13, 1982. Edinburgh, Indiana. The date will probably stick in my mind for the rest of my life. The nervousness. The dread. I had known for weeks that it was inevitable, and it had to be done. If not now, when? If not here, where?

I was about to preach my first sermon.

I had become a Christian a little over a year before, and several months later I felt very strongly that this was the direction I was supposed to go. I didn't doubt it, but I also didn't really understand it. Experts have said that death is our greatest fear, but do you know what they say our second greatest fear is? Public speaking. I don't know if that's really true, but I can tell you it was true for me. When I had to give speeches in high school my goal wasn't to pass, it was to survive. So what does God do once I commit my life to Him? Ask me to do it on a regular basis.

So here I am on February 13, 1982 at my church in Edinburgh. We were having Saturday night services at the time, and my Pastor asked me to speak. There I stood behind the pulpit in my brown corduroy suit (no, I don't still have it) ready to go - or so I thought. The Scripture I had chose to speak on was Psalm 55, part of which says, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest..." About 3 minutes into the message I was wishing that I did have wings, because I would have flown as far as they would have taken me. I used to have the sermon on cassette tape, and it was basically about seven minutes of me saying "Uhhhh...." (Personally, I blame the brown corduroy suit.)

Times have changed. I no longer really deal with "stage fright." I've been blessed with the opportunity to Pastor two great churches as well as serve as a Chaplain at an alcohol/drug treatment center. For awhile I was part of a radio ministry that was broadcast into over 100 countries. I've been blessed to see some pretty amazing things take place. I've seen the Holy Spirit touch lives in ways that were beyond anything I was able to think or imagine. The reason I mention this is that at the end of the evening on February 13, 1982, I never would have thought any of it would have been possible. My thoughts of having any kind of "ministry" were dealt a huge blow that evening. God needed people who could say more than "Uhhhh..." behind the pulpit. How could I stand before people and tell them that God has said "Fear not" when I was scared to death to even stand before them?

Now let me get to the main thing I want to talk about. Have you had a 2/13 moment? Have you tried to do something for God and blown it? Have you been willing to step out in faith, only to fall flat on your face - and worse yet, did others see it? Maybe you've never even had a 2/13 moment simply because you're too afraid to step out and try. If so, please know that I'm not being critical of you - I understand that feeling. Instead, I want to encourage you. I think it's interesting that one of my favorite Bible verses is a 2:13 (Philippians 2:13): "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." What that's saying to us is that not only does God put the desire in our hearts, He will continually work in us to give us the power and ability to do so. We're not alone in this - God calls us, then gives us the ability to pull it off. The challenge is to trust Him and give Him time to do so. My second chance came about a month later - with three Pastors in the crowd. (No added pressure there.) But God moved in my heart and it went great. If you feel like God is calling you to do something, step out in faith. He's probably asking you to do something you feel you can't. That's good, because that means when it happens, He has to get the credit for it. Have you tried to do something for God and fallen flat on your face? Feeling like a failure to the extent that you want to give up? I have great news - if God indeed called you to do it, He's not going to abandon you or remove your calling. Let God lift you up, dust you off, and give you another chance. He's great at second chances.

But if you wear corduroy, you're on your own on that one....