In 'Aha' Moments Like These

Through the years, I have learned that people enjoy, grow, and are even set free from their mental and emotional issues by reading what I call an ‘Aha! moment.’ One-liners say a lot in a little. 

I remember speaking at a very large church in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The pastor introduced me to his congregation this way. "Some speakers, when they come to our church, and we have a healing revival – healing revival! Other speakers, when they come here, and we have a miracle revival – miracle revival. Today, we have Ed Delph. Today we have a revelation revival – revelation revival.” The pastor loves the Aha! moments when I speak there.   

That is good commendation and branding from a satisfied customer. I aim to share insight, not just information. As I’m writing this article, I’m in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. I'm speaking at an influential church called Apostolic Church, which also has a Bible school. The Bible school's online courses are viewed by people from the nations around Bulgaria. I'm here to record a nine-session video class entitled "Turning Church Goers into City Changers" at the Bible school.     

When I speak in various nations, I love surprising people with Aha! moments. Aha! moments move people from information to revelation through illumination. My messages, video classes, and books start with knowledge but end in understanding. Knowledge is 'what.' Understanding is 'why' the 'what.' Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge (what) from understanding (why), and then morphs into behavior (how). One thing is for sure - the Bulgarians are loving those Aha! moments of truth with clarity.

Here are some posts I’ve made on my Facebook this year. I call these posts Aha’s for Today. Some of the posts will get your attention, maybe even create some tension, leading you to wise appropriation and application. We're gleaning from others what they've learned that we can learn, too.  

Let’s start with some cheeky Ahas for today: "What about that awkward moment when you're wearing Nike's and you can't do it?" "I think it's wrong that only one company makes Monopoly." "I'm not an early bird or a night owl. I'm some form of thoroughly exhausted pigeon." "Common sense is like deodorant. People who need it most never use it." "My fake plants died because I didn't pretend to water them." “Golf: The only sport where you yell fore, shoot six, and write down five.”

Here are some insightful Ahas for today: “This too shall pass. It may pass like a kidney stone, but it'll pass.” “If you are cooler than me, wouldn't that make me hotter than you?” “Most people write ‘Congrats’ because they don't know the spelling of ‘Congradjulashions.’” “Never judge a book by its movie.” This Aha for today was on a mom's shirt: "Mom of Boys – Less drama than girls but harder to keep alive.”  

Here are some Food Ahas. “I didn't mean to gain weight. It happened by ‘snaccident.’” "Dear Food: Make up your mind. Either stop tasting so delicious or stop making me fat." "I may look like a potato now, but one day, I'll turn into fries, and you'll all want me then." "I just don't want to look back on my life and say, ‘I could've eaten that.” “I don't mean to brag, but I finished my fourteen-day diet in three hours and twelve minutes.” “Alexa. Cook dinner.” 

Here are some Aging Ahas: "I finally figured out what I want to be when I get older. Younger." "Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately, it kills all its pupils." "The biggest lie I tell myself is, 'I don't need to write that down. I'll remember it.'" "The first 50 years of childhood are always the hardest." "Don't worry about getting older, you're still gonna do dumb stuff, only slower.” "It's perfectly OK to talk to yourself, and it's perfectly OK to answer yourself. But it's totally sad that you must repeat what you said because you weren’t listening.” 

Now for some illuminating life-lifting Ahas. “Wisdom teeth are what you get when you bite off more than you can chew.” “Don’t forget that God intentionally made your calling beyond your ability so that you would have to rely on Him to fulfill it. “The best weight you’ll ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinions.” “Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you’re listening.” “Healing is when you stop telling the story that broke you and start living the story that rebuilt you.” “Whoever is trying to bring you down is already at a lower level.”

“You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.” “I walked away because you were busy finding faults in me, while I was busy overlooking yours.” “Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.” “If you’re going to believe everything you read, start with your Bible.” “Noah was the wisest man that ever lived because he floated his stock when the rest of the world was going into liquidation.” “When God wanted to make a king out of David, He didn’t give him a crown – He gave him a Goliath. Your challenges prepare you for your purpose.”

My last Aha: "Those who leave everything in God's hands will eventually see God's hand in everything.” So, put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water.