40 Days To Lasting Change By Kyle IdlemanSample

“Getting What We Deserve”

Alan Robertson is the beardless brother of the “Duck Dynasty” clan. A good kid growing up, he was drawn to darker influences in his teen years.

One night [Alan] Robertson and his buddies spent an evening drinking and tearing up some mailboxes.

The next day a knock on the door led to a confession and a confrontation as Phil took off his belt and whipped all the boys.

“A spanking was not going to change me,” Robertson said. “Finally, a few months later my dad said, ‘Al, we love you, but the effect you’re having on the younger boys is bad. If you’re not willing to change, hit the road.’”

So Alan left home and headed to New Orleans. He joined the large party scene and began dating a nurse who he believed was divorced.

One Sunday morning Alan discovered the tires of his car were flat. While he was still kneeling down to inspect them, a man attacked him with a crowbar. Turned out the nurse was still married.

Alan fought back and was able to escape. Police officers arrived and apprehended the attacker after her took out the rest of his fury on Alan’s ’76 Monte Carlo. But they had little sympathy for Alan because he’d been sleeping with another man’s wife.

One officer asked, “What are your parents doing now?”

In an AHA moment, that question drew Robertson back to his home and family.

“I realized then that I could be home where Mom would be cooking a roast after church.” Robertson said, “That was my awakening.”

Robertson headed for home and pulled up to his parents’ front yard where Miss Kay was waiting. He was hugging her when Phil came out. Robertson expected a lecture or at least a reminder of what he’d done, but Phil hugged him and said, “Welcome home.”

God often brings us to a desperate moment through deserved consequences. The weight of possible consequences can help us look back on our poor choices with greater clarity. It’s an invitation to cry out to God for help.

Don’t wait for the consequences of your actions to come crashing down around you. Heed the warning sings. Wake up. And come back to the Father.

*Where are your choices taking you? Take an honest look at what impact your actions are having—on yourself and others.