Opportunity versus obstacle.

The first time God whispered Africa into my spirit, all I could think was…I don’t want to be a missionary in Africa. What God had viewed as an opportunity; I had viewed as an obstacle.

I’ve noticed a lot of us meet God’s “opportunities” with resistance because each opportunity presents a three-fold dilemma. #1. What kinds of hardship will this “opportunity” present?  #2 Will I be able to overcome the hardship? #3. Will obeying God and overcoming the hardships be worth it?

And while we may believe we are resisting hardship, we are actually resisting Lordship.

When God asks us to go, or give, or do; we can say no.  And yes, we may avoid the hardship, but we have also denied His Lordship,

Our family recently finished a documentary on J.D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and a few other American capitalist. The documentaries highlighted the vision of these men.  They possessed the ability to perceive the next great need of the American people and they strategically positioned themselves to meet the need.  Americans were drawn to their goods or services.  These men found a way to solve a problem for the American people. The result was incredible financial prosperity.

Vision provided these men with opportunity.  But these opportunities came with obstacles.  Each man had to accept risk, be undeterred in the face of hardship, and overcome failure. It was their willingness to do these things that led them to greatness.

God possesses the vision.  He understands where the opportunities lie. Jesus taught us to pray saying…thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it in in heaven. (Mat. 6:10)  I believe God’s intent is for us to usher in aspects of His Kingdom and His will onto the earth.  These are the opportunities God presents to us.

Job said…I know you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2) God will accomplish His will with or without us.

The great American capitalists were rewarded with unimaginable financial prosperity, but they had to be willing to seize the opportunities.  We too must be willing to seize the opportunity and yield our yes. God may not guarantee financial prosperity but He has promised…”‘what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human mind has conceived’ the things God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corn. 2:9)

The truth is saying yes is hard and we have all said no.  But the good news is God wants to redeem every no, with another opportunity for yes. Saying yes will require us to be rooted in His unwavering love.

God promises the eventual reward for our obedience will be great.  But so is the journey.  Those God “winks”, or God-given opportunities, are what makes life so satisfying and  mysterious.  And it is the undercurrent of God’s unwavering love that compels us.  It empowers us to say yes to Him.

First, we need to recognize our resistance to saying yes to God. We need to see opportunity instead of obstacle. We need to view Him as Lord and not just Savior. Then, we need to dig into God’s word and ask Him for a revelation into His unwavering love for us. And He will use that love to get us to yes…