The story has been told of a shoe salesman who was sent to Africa. He was there a couple of weeks and quickly became frustrated. His first letter back to his company read... “Please bring me home, nobody wears shoes over here.” So the shoe company did just that. Soon after, they sent a second salesman. Same people. Same situation. The new salesman wrote a letter too... His said “Please send all the shoes you can, nobody wears shoes over here.”
Spot the difference?
Same situation. Same shoes. Different viewpoints. One saw futility while the other... opportunity. The first missed out on making a difference and his replacement changed the paradigm.
The second man had a choice and seized his opportunity.
Have you ever kicked yourself for missing a chance that could have made a difference in life? One decision that could have altered your course in a positive way?
Jesus’ disciples did. The night He was betrayed, Christ asked His closest friends to stay awake and stand watch while He prayed... Here’s the result:
“Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, ‘Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Matthew 26:40-41
They didn’t seize the opportunity that Jesus gave them. They had a chance to be obedient and slept through it.
I think we’d be amazed at how many chances per day we get to make effective and Godly decisions. From what we eat, to how we interact with others, to our attitude when things get difficult.... we are presented with countless occasions to honor God with our choices.
So many of us want our situation to change. We try to bargain for miracles... we wish things were different... we hope God will come through. We want different life results while making the same old decisions. We want things to be different but we either aren’t ready or can’t execute on the God-given opportunity to make it that way.
Some make the wrong choices and expect God to do it all.
“Maybe He will make a deal with me and things will change. I’ll be good so He will bless me anyway!”
“Maybe if I close my eyes and blow out the candles... God will grant my wish and my reality will change.”
“Maybe God will see that I want to change and hopefully do the work for me.”
Change doesn’t come from any of these... it comes from being ready and choosing to seize opportunity. In his book, Visioneering, Andy Stanley says, “We don’t need to pray for more miracles, we just need to be more sensitive to the opportunities that God brings our way.”
What does this mean?
We want our friendships to get deeper yet we continue to choose close friends who don’t share our same convictions.
We want our finances to change but we refuse to move ourselves (through obedience in tithing) to where He is already pouring out His blessings.
We want our children to have integrity but when people call the house we tell them to tell the caller that we aren’t home.
We want our spouse to be the man/woman of our dreams yet refuse to trust, communicate, or honor in the home ourselves.
We want God to bless us, but when given the opportunity, we aren’t obedient to what He says in His word.
Time and time again, God gives us chances to make good decisions, be obedient, and grow... to change the world... to change ourselves.
Are we squandering them? Are we telling God to send us home and we’ll stay the same? Or send shoes and we can change things? What opportunity do you have in front of you that you’ve been hesitant to act on? It may not be the easiest thing to do... but it will impact your life in a positive way...
What choice can you make right now that will change you and affect the world around you?
A deeper prayer life?
Breaking a habit?
Reading your Bible more?
Getting baptized?
Figure out what opportunity God is giving you... and be bold enough to seize it. Commit to moving forward in what you know He is leading you to do. Be a world changer... proactive... growing in your boldness to do what you know you’ve been called to.
Life is full of choices... I’ll be praying for you as you seek God’s guidance in the opportunities that are in front of you.
