How to Ruin Your Life

Have you ever made a decision that seemed to ruin your life…only to make it better or save it?

Stanislav Petrov was a Soviet army officer monitoring the satellite system for signs of a U.S. attack. The year was 1983, and his instructions, if he detected missiles targeting the Soviet Union, were to push the button and launch a counter-offensive. Half an hour past midnight on September 26, 1983, he saw the first apparent launch on his computer monitor in a glass-walled room on the top floor of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) command and control post.

“I was supposed to supervise the combat crew. When the first launch happened, everyone was stupefied. After the first launch, I started giving orders, because in the room below, where there were five switchboards, and all the operators jumped out of their seats to see what my reaction was. I can only imagine what went on at the other posts.”

The warning system was by now showing five missile launches in the U.S., headed toward the Soviet Union. The “START” command Petrov was expected to give would have started an irreversible chain reaction in a system geared to launch a counter-strike without human interference. “The main computer wouldn’t ask me [what to do] — it was made so that it wouldn’t even ask. It was specially constructed in such a way that no one could affect the system’s operations.” All that was up to Petrov was analyzing the available information and either saying the alarm was false or giving the computer the go-ahead, as per the directive he himself wrote.

As the seconds turned into minutes, officer Petrov knew that a decision had to be made. One the one had, he realized if he made the decision to “push the button,” WW III would be upon them – even though the USA had launched five missiles at them, they would have launched hundreds in return! On the other hand, if he chose not to obey protocol, the result would most certainly be, at minimum, severe reprimand…if not worse.

Back to the drama at hand, all the data checked out, to all appearances, the system was right on target — or rather, the missiles it reported were.

A decision had to be made…

Petrov reported the alarm to his superiors and declared it false. Had he been mistaken, the mistake would have become obvious in minutes. However, as they waited for visual confirmation, no missiles rained on Soviet Union.

In the end, it was a false alarm started aboard a satellite,” says retired General Yuri Votintsev, then the Commander of the Soviet Missile and Space Establishment. “I noted Lieutenant Colonel Petrov’s correct actions, given the situation. Literally within a minute he informed all the command posts that the information about the launch of space vehicles was false. His actions were duly noted.”

Duly noted indeed! For in a matter of seconds, Petrov was forced to make a decision that had overwhelming consequences. In the end, what seemed like a decision that would ruin his life and end his career turned out to be the difference millions of lives and the altering of world history!

But what about in our spiritual lives? Do we have the faculty to make decisions that, from all outward indicators, might bring about ruin to life as we currently know it? Are we so bold as to stand shoulder to shoulder with decisions that might bring us personal pain, demotion, and discomfort – all for the sake of following God? As the book of Judges opens, we see a people in a land of milk and honey not even knowing who they were or Whom had delivered them! With the fear of the Lord gone, the age of the judges had dawned that God’s people might once again risk in relationship with him and be restored – ruining their lives forever.

Resounding Themes:
Sovereignty/Aloneness of God
Desperation for God
Jesus’ Sacrifice for Our Seperation
Telling Salvation’s Story

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 2:10-15

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What do we know about the “generation that had been gathered to their fathers?” What things did the Lord do with/through them? How could a generation so ignorant about God’s might and power follow such a great one?

- Without the fear of the Lord, how did the new generation act? In what specific ways did they rebel against the Lord? What does the writer mean when he says, “the Lord sold them [Israel} to their enemies?”

- Why is it important is it for us to be continuously telling the story of God’s faithfulness? If we don’t tell out children, what might become of them? In our own lives, are we living our lives in such a way as to deny the way of the world and to ruin our lives for God? Are we preparing the next generation to know and fear the Lord for the great things he has done?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Lord – You are God alone! Who could compare to your matchless worth? If we could even dare to stand in the proximity of your holiness, we would be brought low and humbled because of our impurity. O God, we are a sinful people with unclean lips who live among a people of unclean lips, and our eyes have seen You, the Lord Almighty! We have traded glory for shame, riches for rags, blessings for curses, and love for scorn. What a bankrupt people we are! Yet…in Your infinite mercy, would You restore our fortunes, oh Lord. As You teach us humility in the presence of our own pride, would You provide a hand of comfort and constancy that only You can give? As an oasis in the desert, would You quench the thirst of our souls with Your living water. In our desperation, would You be our salvation? O Lord – You are God alone!

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That’s what You are! Our humble prayer in the name of Jesus. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!