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Looking For Opportunity

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“Every honest effort you make to help other people will come back to you in some way, at some time, and often when you least expect it.”—Brian Tracy

 “The Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:41–42 NLT)

Jesus was in town. A few men realized He was there and got very excited. One of their friends was paralyzed and they knew Jesus could help. When they got to the place where Jesus was teaching, it was so crowded they could not get inside. Did they give up? No, they seized the opportunity. They cut a hole in the roof, lowered their friend down on a pallet, and watched Jesus heal their friend both physically and spiritually.

In Acts 16, the apostle Paul was in jail. Most people would feel depressed, angry, or bitter. Not Paul. He seized the moment to lead his jailer to the Lord. As a result, this man’s entire household came to faith in Christ.

In Luke 10, Mary stopped helping her sister prepare a meal and sat at Jesus’ feet. He may have been teaching, or she may have simply chosen that opportunity for worship and prayer. Martha complained about this, but Jesus affirmed Mary’s choice while rebuking Martha for not seizing the opportunity to be with Him and share an intimate moment with Him.

As we learn to walk once again after our loss, we have a choice to make. We can allow our feelings and circumstances to drive us to Jesus, or away from Him. We can choose to busy ourselves with the mundane, or we can serve Him. It’s clearly our choice.

The Lord sets opportunities before us every day. He gives us opportunities to serve others and to serve Him. It may mean facing our challenge or our hardship head on, but we need to be willing to do what God calls us to do. We can’t let crowded rooms, what seems like a jail cell, or our own busyness block us from the opportunities He brings us.

We can be confident that no matter how we feel, God will enable us to walk through all the doors He opens for us (Philippians 4:13).

INSIGHT

We have a choice to draw close to Jesus and look for opportunities to deepen our walk with Him and to help others.

PRAYER

Ask God to show you the promise and excitement of walking through His doors of opportunity. Ask Him to show you those doors and the blessing that comes from walking through them under the guidance of His hand.

LIFE CHOICES

  • Study Luke 10:38–42 and Ephesians 5:15–17. What opportunities is God placing in front of you? Is there anything blocking you from seizing the moment?
  • Understand that believers are asked to help others. Believers are not called to sit back and be uninvolved—no matter what their circumstances are. Understand that He knows your fears and stands ready to help you see and seize His opportunities.
  • Discover the power and blessing of taking advantage of God’s opportunities. The men who helped the paralytic felt joy and satisfaction. Martha discovered serving over fretting (John 12). Let God show you His way and His choices through His doors of opportunity.

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Today’s post is by Wayne Hastings the president of The Wayne Hastings Company. Wayne works directly with publishing and retail clients in the areas of leadership, product development, marketing and retailing effectiveness. His post is an excerpt from his latest book, The Way Back From Loss: Reassembling the Pieces of a Broken Life (Worthy 2014)

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