Seeing the Opportunity
Have you heard the expression, “If it had been a snake, it would have bit you.” or “It’s staring at you right in your face.”? I laugh because I say these types of things to certain family members who can’t seem to find things they are looking for. Sometimes we are so involved in what we are doing or have spent so much time looking we just don’t see clearly any more. What is obvious becomes unobvious to us. It’s the same with opportunities in our lives. We may have been looking for work for a long time and as rejections pile up and time passes by we may not even see a job opportunity that someone has told us about as a job opportunity. We see it as another rejection or as a hopeless cause to pursue. We miss the opportunity that God may have opened up for us. Look at the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10: 30 -35.
30 Jesus took up [the question] and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
The first two men who came across the man who lay in the street wounded and robbed were supposed to be godly men. One was a priest, the other a Levite. Yet each one of them looked at the man and continued on their way. Perhaps they figured he was going to die and it wasn’t their responsibility or their fault this had happened. Perhaps they figured he deserved it. Perhaps they figured he was just a robber lying in wait. Perhaps they thought someone else would take care of him. Perhaps they thought they had too much on their plate already serving God or meeting family needs. Whatever the case they missed an opportunity to minister to someone in need. They didn’t even stop to examine him to see what his needs were and see if they could help. They missed an opportunity to be a witness for God.
We need to take instruction from these two men. Take time to see things as opportunities. Even a trial that comes upon us is an opportunity to serve God or witness for Him. God always brings things in to our life for a reason. We may think it will cost us too much time or money. We may think it will over stress us. We may think we don’t have the skill. What we are forgetting is that God has placed many opportunities in to our life and expects us to respond. He always provides the resources to respond appropriately. If He is leading us, then we must respond. We must not just walk on past the opportunity. Follow God’s instruction to see the opportunities he lays in our path.
