Before Opportunity Knocks

Posted on Mar 20, 2016 in Pastor's Pen |

Before Opportunity Knocks

“Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.” —Psalm 105:19

We have all heard the phrase “when opportunity knocks,” but it’s what we have done to prepare for that opportunity that really counts. You may be waiting for the high-paying job with great benefits, but if you haven’t prepared, it will soon be obvious.

Opportunity without preparation leads to disappointment

—disappointment to you and to the person who gave you the opportunity.

For nearly two years, Lou Gehrig waited on the sidelines before having the opportunity to go in for the injured Wally Pipp. He would play the whole game and get three hits. He would continue as the starter for the next seventeen years without missing a game! He was ready before opportunity knocked.

In 1999, Curt Warner went from being a nobody to being the NFL MVP in one season. He came on as the second-string quarterback for the team, but when the starter, Trent Green, went down, the team had no choice but to use Curt. Talk about a great opportunity, but would it have been if he had not prepared?

He was twenty-eight and had not started an NFL game. It was what he did before opportunity knocked that made the difference. Five years earlier he had had an opportunity with the Packers, but he wasn’t ready and would have to wait. A lot of people don’t get a second chance at that kind of opportunity; he made the best of it.

You say, “I hope I get an opportunity for a good job, a good marriage, and a good retirement.” But, I ask you, “What are you doing before opportunity knocks?”

Most people get what they have prepared for.

Joseph was a man who waited nearly seventeen years before he got the opportunity that he had dreamed about. What was he doing in the meantime? He wasn’t just lying on the couch, eating pizza and watching television; he was preparing! He was being prepared by God’s divine direction.

He did not have control of all of his circumstances, but he did have control of his choices. It was the process of making good choices that made him ready for God to bring him out of the prison and into the palace. He didn’t wait for the opportunity to knock to get right with God; he was right with God before opportunity knocked!

Too many people are making excuses as to why they can’t come to church faithfully or serve the Lord. They say they don’t have the opportunity. If you are waiting for your life to get better to come to church and serve God, you are missing the point completely. Honor God before opportunity knocks; serve God before opportunity knocks, and you will find bigger doors opening.

The question I leave you is this:

“What are you doing before opportunity knocks?”

God’s Word is trying you, but if you don’t prepare before opportunity knocks, the opportunity you are waiting for may not come at all!

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