Opportunity Knocks!

This post is written to link with Five Minute Friday: write for five minutes on a one-word prompt.  The prompt today is “opportunity.”

They say that opportunity knocks.

The question is: will we answer?

It’s not going to force its way in.  It presents itself to us, letting us know that it’s there, but we have a choice about how to respond.  Will we leave it standing on the doorstep, or will we invite it in?

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines opportunity as “an occasion or situation that makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do.”

Opportunity makes it possible, but we have to discern whether or not it’s the right time, or the right course of action, to turn that possibility into reality.  That’s where we need God’s wisdom because it’s not always clear.

As David hid in a cave, on the run from King Saul who had already tried to kill him and was desperate to finish the job, he had what seemed like a God-given opportunity.  The king entered the cave, defenceless and alone, completely unaware of David’s presence.  To David’s men it seemed obvious that God was giving David this opportunity to overcome his enemy.  After all, David had already been marked out as the future king, and Saul’s behaviour was inexcusable.

But David knew this was not God’s way.  Saul was king.  Just because it was possible didn’t mean it was right, so he chose to let the opportunity pass him by.

At other times, an opportunity can feel scary and daunting, but it is the right thing to open the door and let it in.  This week I have the opportunity to go into a local high school to work with a couple of classes, answering their questions about Christianity.

It scares me because I’m not sure what they’ll ask so I can’t prepare my responses.  I worry that I won’t explain it well or that I won’t know what to say, but I also know that it’s an amazing opportunity to share truth and hope with young people who may never have had the chance to hear a Christian explain their faith, so I can’t let fear hold me back.  It’s too good an opportunity to miss.

Opportunity knocks.

The question is: how will we answer?

May God give us the wisdom and discernment to know, so that we are not reacting to our feelings but responding as he leads.