Forty minutes of panic!  That was the situation last week after a warning was sent to cell phones across Hawaii telling people, “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

And it wasn’t a drill, it was a mistake.  A mistake that took over a half hour to correct…. really?  A half an hour where people thought their world was coming to an end.

To be fair, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted there was no threat about ten minutes after the initial alert.

But that obviously only reached people who were checking their twitter feed.  A revised alert informing residents of the “false alarm” reached cellphones about 30 minutes later.  Oops.

Officials have apologized to residents stating the warning was sent when someone accidentally hit the wrong button.  The unnamed employee has since been reassigned.

And while officials have vowed this will never happen again, the damage has been done.

Residents of the state will never really trust the system again.

Through the years, well-intentioned people have mistakenly warned that the return of Jesus was imminent, and it wasn’t.  And so, people have stopped paying attention.

A missile may never be launched at Hawaii, but Jesus will return, whether we believe it or not.

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.