Three Lessons On Opportunity

My church has just gotten on The City, which is sort of like a Twitter/Facebook hybrid-type deal where you can post and comment on status updates, keep a public or private journal, join groups, send/receive announcements, etc. I haven't thoroughly explored it yet, but so far, my favorite thing about it is the daily Bible readings. It's great for me because the only effort it requires is the actual reading. I don't have to decide what to read or in what order. I didn't have to buy anything. I don't even have to flip pages. It's just all there on the screen for me, and I think it's designed to help you read through the whole Bible in a year. I love it.

So today, there were four passages: 1 Samuel 26, 1 Corinthians 7, Ezekiel 5 and John 6. Now, I don't know how they determine which passages to put together, but I'm going to tell you right now, God used all of them together to tell me a few things that I'd like to share with you.

1. Just because you have an opportunity in front of you, that doesn't always mean you should take it. Free will has always meant that we have a choice – to respect the will and desires of God and serve Him or to serve ourselves. Sometimes, yes, I believe that God closes doors to opportunities He doesn't want us to take, and sometimes we have choices to make that are all good choices, and it doesn't matter much which one we choose. But sometimes, we have opportunities that we're not meant to take. I don't know that they're always as clear-cut as the choice David had – to kill or not to kill, a choice that I think should always be pretty easy – but they always require you to ask the question: Which is a step toward becoming more like Jesus, and which is a step away?
   
   If one choice involves taking life and one involves giving it, that's a no-brainer. If one means sacrificing yourself so someone else can have life while the other means self-preservation, that's honestly harder for me to choose, but I still know the right answer in theory. And if one choice will result in Jesus being more widely known while the other may or may not, well those are the choices that require more analysis, but ultimately they're pretty easy too. 
2. Don't take opportunities just because they worked for someone else. 1 Corinthians 7:17 says, "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him."
   
   The temptation I face pretty much every day is to look at other people's lives and ask God, "Why not me?" But the reality is that He looked at me, considered my personality, my abilities, my experiences thus far and my desires, and He chose His absolute best for me personally. Jesus died for me, individually and personally. He loves me not only in the blanket sense with which He loves all mankind, but me. Personally.
   
   A lot of people would say that I shouldn't be jealous of what other people have, but I should remember that they're probably jealous of what I have. And while it's true that other people are jealous of what I have, that's not the thing that should bring me comfort. The reason I shouldn't be jealous of what I don't have is this: It's a good thing that I don't have those things. If those things were God's best for me, He would have given them to me. The things I have are His best for me, particularly if I'm seeking to follow Him and do His will.
3. When Jesus comes to you, don't be afraid. The disciples in John 6 are in a boat, in a lake, in a storm, at night. And Jesus comes walking out toward them on the water, which is admittedly really freaky. I'd probably be afraid too. But I think it's funny that the thing He says to calm them down is, "It is I." I'm not really sure why I think that's funny. I just do. But I can totally relate to it, especially when it comes to decision-making. When you have to make a big decision, it sort of feels like you're in a storm at night, doesn't it? You can't really see much one way or the other, and everything's in a state of turmoil. You don't know what to do, and quite frankly, you're scared. Then an opportunity comes along and you're all "Seriously?! What is that?!" And either it's a giant wave coming to crush you, or it's the ghost of some old fear or insecurity coming to make you doubt, or it's Jesus saying, "It is I; do not be afraid."
   
   And this is great: John 6:21 – "Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going."
   
   Done. Decision made, Jesus on board, destination reached.

I think that's enough for today (and yesterday, woops). Love.