opportunity

Window of Opportunity

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Window of Opportunity

Many married couples, especially me, have had this argument while traveling: “Turn here!”, she says. “It’s the wrong exit,” he says. “No! Turn!”, she says. They miss the turn then he dejectedly says, “I’ll turn around.” “No, you won’t!”, she says. “I’ll turn.”, he says. “It’s too late!”, she says. This is no fun.

We read about this same mistake in Deuteronomy 1:26, 41-42, But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God… Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up… But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.‘”

Obedience has a lot to do with timing. We have “windows of opportunity” to act on God’s direction because during that time we are in the will of God. Acting too soon or waiting too long, and that very same action becomes disobedience; you will not be blessed.

Missing Our Window of Opportunity

We usually miss the “window” because of fear or lack of trust in. Jesus. Just like the Israelites, we want to send spies ahead of us to “find out” what we’re getting into. Then when we learn what we’re facing, we lose heart. It’s too big for us to handle. Well, yes, silly rabbit, that’s the point. It’s a God-sized task. It’s God’s work, not yours.

Now, there are many times that God will have us wait an extraordinary length of time before He provides us with the window of opportunity which He has shown us. These times often are for the development of our character. God didn’t call Moses until he was eighty years old. Moses didn’t spend eighty years practicing to lead a nation. He spent those years learning to hear and be obedient to God. Then when the opportunity opened, Moses was ready for his call! Well, even then Moses wasn’t quite ready, but he was obedient.

Don’t just “wait.” Practice obedience. That’s the key to hearing and acting within God’s “windows of opportunity.”

Photo by Casey Callahan on Unsplash

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Great Opportunity

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When I was in the business world, one of the questions we would often ask was, “Why is it that we cannot afford to do something right the first time, but we always find time to do it right the second time (i.e., rework) to meet our customer’s order?”

I am amazed at how we, as a society, have consented to poor quality, poor service, and poor reliability in everything from fast food to the practice of medicine. To bolster my claim, within the last month we waited in line for more than thirty minutes in a fast food drive-thru with only a couple of cars in front of us, and we presented our extensive list of medications, with prices, to our pharmacy and explained to them that within eyesight of their store we could buy the same medications for at least 60% less.

Now, I know this sounds like a rant. Here’s the devotional: Recently, we drove through a fast food drive-thru, and the transaction was so pleasant that my wife told the manager she felt like she was in a commercial. The service, quality, and friendliness stood in stark contrast to other transactions, and this is where our walk with Jesus comes in.

Living in a sea of low standards and disappointments provides followers of Jesus with endless opportunities to let Jesus shine in this messed-up world. If we focus on the bad stuff, then we join with the world in amplifying disappointment. However, when we remember what Jesus said, as recounted in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”

Every day we have so many opportunities to share, show, and sing the Good News of Jesus. I believe we have more opportunities now than there have been for one hundred years or more.

Now is not the time to hide our light but to let it shine wherever we go. People are desperate for the refreshing that only comes from being reborn. Who are we that we should withhold the Living Water, to anyone?

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

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