Never Pass Up God’s Opportunity

There are several shows on TV that deal with buying storage units and then going through them hoping to find something of value buried in them.  It’s a risky proposition.  You can spend money on something that just holds junk that you need to get rid of.  It’s also a lot of work.  You have to lift, dig, shove, move, re-pack, refinish, research, find buyers and sell it all.  So the question is, “Is it worth the effort and money?”  Or should you pass up the opportunity?  One time according to Trutv.com “In 2000, the actor Nicholas Cage filed a police report claiming that an extremely rare comic book, Action Comics #1, (valued at more than a million dollars) had been stolen from his Los Angeles home. More than 10 years later, a collectibles expert was contacted by an anonymous man who found the book after discovering it in a purchased storage locker. The collectibles expert contacted a comic book expert who happened to be the same man who had originally sold the book to Cage in 1994. Despite having received insurance money for the comic, the actor was eager to settle up with the insurance company and retrieve his property.”  This is just one of many examples where the work was worth the effort.  This was definitely an opportunity that shouldn’t have been passed up.  Jesus tells a parable that teaches this concept 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.’

We don’t really know why the two religious men passed up the man who had been robbed.  Perhaps they didn’t want to be inconvenienced or they knew it would cost them time and money.  Whatever the case the Samaritan stopped and took care of the man.  He gave up time and money to help.  It may not seem like an opportunity to help someone in need, but God sees it as an opportunity to share Him with others.  He gives us everything we have.  He gives us health, time, and money.  He expects to give of what we have to serve Him and others.   Every time to serve God is a great opportunity.  It’s opportunity that should not be passed up for our own selfish reasons.  If God shows us the opportunity and we know it is from Him, then we need to respond to the opportunity.  It is just common sense to not pass up God’s opportunities.  He will bless us for honoring Him and representing Him to others.  What we might spend in time and money will not compare to what we gain from God.  It’s like the great reward these storage unit buyers find.  

Here are some great opportunity quotes by some successful men:

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Edison

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Charles Swindoll

“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” Alexander Graham Bell