Real Opportunities

Recently, I heard the following statement made by the pastor of Washington D.C.'s National Community Church, Mark Batterson:

"Chase the opportunities from God that are impossible without God."

Great word with much to unpack! As I was reflecting on it, the Lord highlighted the word "opportunities" and began to reveal a few things. Most of us have the tendency to interpret "opportunity" as something fun, exciting and adventurous - a chance to do, receive or become something great. I sensed the Lord saying that's how He sees it too, but not necessarily in the same way we do. No surprises there - His ways and thoughts are higher than ours and He desires outcomes for us way beyond all we could ask, think or imagine!

Photo by Jack Ward on Unsplash

Most of us, including in the Church, have a tendency to look at opportunity with a finite, worldly lens envisioning better work, more money, nice things, recognition, stature, influence, power, etc. Even in ministry there's the temptation to seek bigger programs, more numbers, wider circulation and other markers of "success". I believe the Lord is wanting us to understand that it is His intention to place opportunities in front of us that will provide much more than the things this world can offer and can only be rightly measured by His definition of success.

What if the real opportunities from God look more like:

~ Caring for a sick or elderly parent?
~ Providing for that special needs child year after year?
~ Demonstrating faith in and love for a wayward adult son or daughter?
~ Standing beside a spouse fighting addiction or depression?
~ Faithfully serving a grouchy boss with excellence week in and week out?

We are often so busy praying for these kinds of things to be instantly "healed" and removed from our lives. I fully receive and engage in the assignment to pray but what if sometimes these things are the real opportunities from God that are impossible to complete without Him and yield the greatest rewards? What if we are to pray until we receive peace - the peace that comes when He has resolved the situation or the peace and grace He gives to sustain us in a situation that He intends to leave in place for purposes we do not yet understand? What if that is the greatest reward of all? 

^"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4, NLT, emphasis mine)

What if the real opportunity is not just getting the chance to pursue the dreams of our hearts (God wants that too - He put them there!), but getting the chance to become the people He already sees when He looks at us as we prepare for those dreams and do them? The preparation may not look like what we expected but what appears to us as a road block or detour is likely the path He had planned all along. The goal is to continually trust Him. 

Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time. (Oswald Chambers)

This continual confidence gives rise to hope which frees us to love both God and others, fulfilling the greatest commandment and bringing God, and us, our greatest joy! He is the reward and the rewarder! (Matthew 22:37-40 & Revelation 22:12)

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT)

Photo by antonio ochoa on Unsplash

To paraphrase The Message version of the above passage, when our time here is all said and done, it will be our faith (and the resulting hope and love), not gold, that God will display as proof of His victory. Opportunity is always about developing and maturing who we are over what we do or have.

More to discover in the next post!

“Moses said, ‘Please. Let me see your Glory.’ God said, ‘I will make my Goodness pass right in front of you; I’ll call out the name, God, right before you.’” (Ex 33:18-19a)

Let the whole earth be filled with His glory!