Good morning, Lovelies! I hope each and every one of you is starting your day off with a beautiful thought. I am always searching for good vibes in the morning. Maybe you’ve come here today to get that!
A few of us here at Eat Pray Wife attend Elevation Church, and the inspiration for today’s post comes from Pastor Steven‘s sermon from this past Sunday. It was packed with lots of brain-food and some tips for taking on 2017. Pastor talked about Seizing the Opportunity which sounds a lot like a phrase we’ve heard before – Seize the Moment. It’s different though, because he was talking about seizing the opportunities that God gives us, some of them being opportunities that we asked for.
This mindset of seizing the opportunity reminds me of a quote from Wayne Gretzky. He said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” That’s not just a sport analogy. It applies here too, in your spiritual life. You miss out on 100% of the opportunities that you don’t take, or in this case seize. Pastor Steven said 3 powerful things that have been stuck in my head since Sunday. Here they are:
- The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity.
- All opportunities are not created equal, and they all have an expiration date.
- God is waiting for us to seize the opportunities that are right in front of our eyes.
The first statement is like WOW! Just, wow! I had never thought of it that way. We sit and pray, asking God to open doors and give us opportunities, and then we don’t take them. Doors shut and opportunities go away after a certain time. They have a lifetime too, and it’s important that we take the risk sometimes, and take the opportunities that are right in front of us instead of always waiting for something bigger, better, or just different. I’m not saying to settle, but don’t forget what you prayed for because there are going to be times when God answers that prayer by saying yes. When He opens that door, be ready to walk through because if you don’t, that door may close before you’re ready for it.
The second statement goes along with the first, but I still need to take time to touch on the equality of opportunities. Some opportunities are going to be huge (yuge). These might be the ones we are really waiting for, but then others will be good opportunities, just not WOW opportunities. In life, not everything can be wow. That’s just a fact, but just because it isn’t wow, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Not all opportunities are created equal, but all opportunities from God are worth your attention.
The third statement really softened my heart to think about what it must be like for God. Here, we are all praying for different things, maybe to meet someone special, or for a job opportunity, maybe a miracle or a physical healing. God opens the door or puts that opportunity right in front of us, and we just look right passed it. Like GOD is giving us opportunities, and we don’t take them??? I’m so thankful that He is patient and loving because in my little human brain, I’m just thinking I would be done giving opportunities after people overlooked the ones placed right in front of them. Maybe we don’t do it on purpose, or maybe it’s because our eyes aren’t focused.
I’m so guilty of praying for something and never following up. When I don’t follow-up, I miss the opportunity to see God’s goodness. It’s like an empty prayer, which doesn’t really makes sense. I’m seeing a lot of people post about how 2017 is going to be their year, and I genuinely want that for you, I do. By opening your eyes and your mind to the opportunities God is placing right in front of you, I promise you, this can be your year.
To watch his sermon, click here.
– the Wife (with a little help from the Husband 😉 )
EAT PRAY WIFE 