Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:26-27
There are many ways to get stronger, gain muscle, and workout. I discovered a new way to get amazingly sculpted arms! It didn’t require me to buy any equipment, and I was able to use what was laying around the house. You could try it too. Stop! Don’t go running to grab some paper to take notes on my brilliance because it’s only two words. Sticky faucet.
After using the facilities, it was workout time. To wash my hands, I’d start flexing, pulling, and grunting to achieve the tone I was looking for. I’d follow that with pushing, allowing me to work on that definition, while getting my core involved. Look at that! I’m taking you into a full body workout. A few of these reps several times a day and I knew I was going to be in the best shape of my life!
I didn’t get to see the results of my labor because my hubby heard the routine and the grumbling…I mean the grunting from the hard work at the sink. He didn’t even need to ask me what was going on. He just said, “I’ll take care of that tomorrow.”
Tomorrow came and he remembered! I was quite impressed that he fixed it when he said he would. I was standing in front of the sink getting ready to brush my teeth when sure enough, it turned right on. “Ok, we’re rolling now,” I thought. I turned it onto cold, put the toothpaste on, and wet my toothbrush. When I put it into my mouth, something wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t very cold; it was actually pretty warm. I tried wetting it again, and it was hotter. What was I doing wrong? It said cold but was running hot! Oh huuubbbyyy…
After receiving a new promise of fixing it tomorrow, I realized that something I’ve been thinking on applied to this situation. Opportunity is a process. It doesn’t just happen in one step; it has phases. Are you wondering how my sticky faucet could be an opportunity? I’m just curious…did my hubby pray for his wife to respect him as he wished she would? I think I read somewhere that’s one of those things that are high up the importance chart for a man. Frankly, I think it is for everyone!
My hubby did something that gave me much respect for him. He saw a problem (though wasn’t perfectly clear on how to solve it) and was leery of the challenge ahead, but he stepped out and tried when he said he would. God knows that for me, seeing him following up on his promises creates great respect in me for him. To me he already succeeded when he got in there with the help of YouTube and got it done…even if it wasn’t perfect. It was a bonus when he followed through the next day and made the cold cold and the hot hot!
We often get hung up on opportunity being something handed to us without any responsibility on our part. We could be waiting on our opportunity for quite some time if we keep thinking that way. It comes to us more often disguised as a challenge with several steps.
Opportunity’s first phase starts with dreaming and asking God. It moves to a challenge that we don’t always connect with what we asked for. Then, it’s having courage enough to face the challenge. That isn’t it though! We also need to go through the unexpected problems that crop up within the challenge. Finally, it’s the follow-up to see if any readjustments need to be made.
The thing is, when we see the challenge, God sees the opportunity. We’ll see the opportunity for what it is after we’ve stepped out and accepted the challenge.
Sometimes with the blog, I see a challenge more than I realize it’s an opportunity. I’ll get to a spot where I need clarity on what to write. I start praying for my mind to get the fog away and to not say anything that would hurt someone’s walk with God.
I learned something today. It was about needing faith more than clarity. Clarity is kind of like logic, right? Faith over logic! Logic and faith don’t always work together. They are opposing sides, and it takes courage and faith to step into the challenge to keep writing even when I would prefer God to just zap the words onto the page. Can’t I trust Him to do that through me? If I mess it up, don’t I have faith that God can take care of that too because my heart is in the right place?
There are times when we must step out in faith to meet the challenges even if we aren’t sure what to do. I mean…pray first for sure! Sometimes I think that God wants more action and less waiting from me though. If I wait for everything to be absolutely clear and perfect, I might never write another thing!
I just need to put pencil to paper or fingers to the keyboard more often and not worry about the words that will be written because I’m trusting in God’s guidance. I must write the words that come to mind instead of waiting for absolute clarity. There are times to halt, but I think that the lesson for me is to relax and trust…knowing that when more problems show themselves, more guidance will be given.
Today, don’t ask for more clarity, ask for more faith. Ask for the courage to step out and face the challenges that are put in your path. Remember that those challenges just might be the opportunities you’ve been praying for. Very truly I tell you, don’t seek opportunities for only selfish gain. It’s about Whose you are, not about who you are.
