Wow! What a great feeling to be back from my forced vacation. lol. Let me not bother you with the reasons I have not updated for quite a long time, May be I should do a blog entitled: "the return of the Prince" where that may be taken care of.lol. The only person I hinted was one of my mentors, Adeolu Akinyemi, in one of the messages I sent to him on facebook. But on a serious note, It wasn't funny at all during this period of my ''forced'' vacation, well thank God am back.
Now lets get serious! I was privileged to speak to the youths of my Assembly during one of our meetings. I took my text from I Samuel 17: 17-30. We all know the story, its about David and Goliath and my message was entitled "Is there not a cause?". However, before I served them the main meal (the message), I served them a dessert (a pep talk) on "opportunity" derived basically from the same text which I would like to share with us here.
I announced to them that we are in our seasons of opportunities but we need to understand some facts about opportunities. Facts, which for the sake of this post, I have refered to them as the "Laws of opportunity". Hope you are aware that your life today is a sum total of the opportunities in life you have utilized and those you allowed to pass you by. And like they say, to be POOR means to Pass Over Opportunities Repeatedly. If you ask any of your folk, he or she would tell you that his or her life would have been a lot better off if not for certain opportunities he missed or abused. At least my own dad has told me some of his esp. what he did with the first money he made as a bachelor.
Come with me as we examine these laws:
1) Breakthrough is birthed when opportunity meets preparation:
Hope you know David came prepared. How else would you explain the fact that he came along with his sling (and stones) even though he knew he was not going for hunting, if not that he knew anything can happen at any time. Like the boys scout would say, "Be prepared". He didn't have to go back home to pick up his slings. To have been very confident and skillful in the usage of the sling speaks of one who has mastered it over time. The young lad has been in the wilderness practicing and training with bears and lions.
2) There is nothing like a golden opportuniy:
What makes an opportunity golden is a function of what you do with it. To the on-lookers and by-standers, that moment was a golden opportunity for David. Isn't it? But the same opportunity was there begging to be grabbed before David showed up. This is how many of us have been wasting in the bid of waiting for our golden opportunities which never was. Why wait and become a waste when you can start and become a star?
3) What you do with an opportunity is not a function of what you have or are per se but a function of decision:
David didn't have the best of weapons nor had he the best of military training available to Saul and his men then. But he understood the power of decision.
Jesus in Matthew 13:44-46 spake a parable that the kingdom of God if like a pearl or treasure of great price which when a man finds, he sold all he had and bought it. But in Matthew 19:16-22, the Bible speaks of a rich man who came to Jesus seeking for the same kingdom but who, when he was told to go and sell all that he had so he could have this heavenly treasure, walked away sorrowfully. The same opportunity, different results: the one missed it while the other utilized not based on what they had but their decisions.
4) There is no customized opportunity:
Even when an opportunity seemed to be customized (i.e. meant for an individual), if the person to whom it was meant misses out on it, the sharp guy next door seizes it. There was no prophecy anywhere that David will kill Goliath, so it was not a matter of predestination: that what shall be shall be. The God in whom David put his faith is the same God Saul and his army served. He is the same God that Goliath defiled. David confronted him on the basis of God covenant with the Israelites which was why he called him an uncircumcised philistine. A truth known to Saul and his entire army.
Opportunity is a traveler and it takes men who understand to attract it. The Shunamite woman was not the only barren woman (according to Jesus) in town when Elisha was passing by on a regular basis. Elisha has been an opportunity on transit waiting to be keyed into but none of the other widows could decipher this. Elisha although a prophet, didn't hear expresly from God to go and bless this woman rather the woman attracted the opportunity to herself and thus provoked the blessing.
What about the woman with the issue of blood in the Matthew 9: 18-22. Jesus was just passing by on His way to that ruler's house to heal his sick daughter. While every other person (including some sick folks) followed, the woman saw it as an opportunity to be healed of her infirmity. The same is true of blind Beartimeaus. On both accounts, it was obvious that Jesus wasn't there for them but they attracted him and got their miracles. While other were busy waiting for the day and time that Jesus would personally mention their cases or come to their houses, these ones attracted such opportunities to themselves.
5) Opportunities often come as challenges and are often a call to responsibility:
Opportunities often come in capsules called challenges and those who run away from challenges miss out on them. David love challenges or else he had every reason not to meddle with strictly military affair. How dare him, a bloody civilian. That challenge facing you could be an opportunity for promotion. Rise to the occasion! There are abilities lying within you and all you need is the right opportunity either as challenges or a call to responsibility to demonstrate them. Stop hiding! come out of your caves.
6) Opportunities are unique:
We often hear stuffs like, "opportunity comes but once". I have disputed that statement in the past but had to reconsider my stand as my eyes open to this fact: that no two opportunities are exactly the same. There are things which if you miss out on them today, doing them later may cause you more than they would have caused today. No two opportunities are exactly same, they may be geared towards the same end but the circumstances (terms and conditions) surrounding them surely will differ.
Opportunity lost may never be regained in the same form and manner. What you get is often a second chance may be with some sacrifice but the first is surely gone for good.
For instance, if one fails to go to school as a youth today, he has lost that opportunity. If he still decides to go later in life, it will involve a lost of sacrifice...Hope you know there are times when it is easier (or easiest) to give one's life to the Lord? Yes, we can do it anytime of our life but there are periods when the decision would have been much easier to make. No wonder Ecclessiates 12:1 admonishes to remember our creator now in the days of our youth when then evil days come not. Why not decide for Jesus now. Don't wait until circumstances compel you to.
7) There is no small or big opportunity:
Every small opportunity you seize opens you up and prepares you for greater one. Most of what we do today is a product of what we did with little opportunities that came our way.
Time and space will fail me to share from my personal experience how this law has worked in my life. So whenever you are called to do anything no matter how small, don't look down on it. Yes, it may not befit your status but go ahead and do it. You don't know who may be watching. He who is faithful in that which is least is also faithful in much. If you are not faithful in little responsibilities, who will commit to you greater ones.
David has been killing wild animals in the wilderness. A feat that attracted no attention at least on a national scale. Of course, the opportunity that brought him to the bigger stage was a little one ( that of going on a erand) but he seized it gladly. This law is closely related to the fifth one above. Most times pride blinds us to the reality of this truth. Remember King Saul, before he became king? He was sent on an erand as well by his father to go look for the missing sheep. A responsibility Saul would have delegated to one of his father's servants rather he em-backed on it gladly even going an extra. It was in the process he met Prophet Samuel. We know the rest of the story.
I know there may be other laws, keep 'em coming in the comment section.
Love you!
