“Think of every opportunity as a gift from God. What you do with that opportunity is your gift to God.”

Don’t you just love this statement? There is so much good information in this chapter that we don’t even know where to start. There are a few things that really stand out to us, so that’s what we’re going to focus on today. Let’s start with a couple of questions:

Are you seizing the God-ordained opportunities that are presented to you?

Do you even see the opportunities that God is laying before you?

We all have dreams. And, many of us have something that we know we are supposed to do and accomplish in this life. We tend to focus on looking for the big opportunities though and miss out on the small opportunities that present themselves on our way to the big opportunities. Let me give you an example. We at After the Miracle feel very passionate about women’s ministry. We have set many goals of things that we would like to accomplish. Now in order to reach those goals we need to start out looking for the small opportunities that God presents us and by doing that we will slowly reach the higher goals that we have and feel that God is calling us to. We can not only look for the BIG opportunities in life. The author tells us that Benaiah became the most powerful person in Israel next to the king himself by seizing one opportunity at a time. He started out at the bottom of the ladder just like everyone else but by seizing one small opportunity at a time until he became what God created him to be.

“You’ve got to prove yourself when the little opportunities present themselves. And when you do, God will bring bigger and better opportunities your way.” We both highlighted this in our books. Neither one of us wants to miss out on the small opportunities because something tells me that we will be so blessed by seizing them and being obedient. We both desire to do big things for God so we are learning that to be obedient in the small things first.

In this chapter, we are introduced to a man named Shamgar. And, similar to Benaiah, Shamgar defied the odds. Imagine this: he is up against 600 men and had no armor and really no weapon and certainly no type of training. And even though he has nothing that he needs to really fight, Shamgar does what he needs to do with what he has and kills 600 Philistines. Benaiah was the same way. They’re both lion chasers and lion chasers don’t think about what they can’t do or look for excuses. They just make the circumstances work for them and do whatever they need to do to be successful. The author even gives a simple definition of success which is “doing the best you can with what you have where you are.” We all have gifts and talents that we can use and yes, we are all placed in different circumstances in life. In order to be a good stewart of the opportunities that God sends our way we need to grab them with everything in us and be lion chasers. Don’t find excuses why you can’t or shouldn’t follow through with those opportunities.

Opportunities sometimes can come disguised as 500 pound lions that appear to want to eat you for lunch. We can all agree with this statement. We have both had opportunities present themselves in ways that really were problems on the surface. At least that is what it looked like at the time. And, we can’t even say that either one of us recognized these as opportunities at the time. But, when we decided to embrace them, the Lord slowly revealed what tremendous opportunities they were. And, from there even more opportunities arose that have been incredibly rewarding.

Will we ever be ready to live out our dreams? Isn’t it great how the author lays out all kinds of excuses why we can’t. And, he even says that we will never be completely ready. It is easy to find all kinds of excuses to not do what lies ahead. Many of us are like that. By nature, you may not be a lion chaser. And, if something looks like it could be difficult and require a lot of time and energy, you may hesitate because your plate is already full, in your eyes that is. Aren’t you tired of making excuses? Are you ready to be a lion chaser? Then notice the small opportunities that God lays before you and embrace them one by one. Stop making excuses and let those small opportunities lead you to bigger and better opportunities to serve Him. What are your dreams today? Be in prayer mode and be looking and searching and asking the Holy Spirit to show you those opportunities and then embrace them and be lion chasers. Live life with no regrets!!!

Things to think and pray about this week:

1. What small opportunities do you think are in front of you today?

2. Are you living in prayer mode? What can you do to make prayer a great part of your day?

3. In your past, can you see how God prepared you with small opportunities before setting a large opportunity before you?

4. How have you proved yourself in the small opportunities in the past?

As we continue to see through the first six chapters, I hope you are continuing to see how God wants you to have a full, rich life that honors Him. And, that full, rich life requires a little risk. Remember to continue to ask for God’s direction and discernment to see the small opportunities that arise each day. We all can, and must, be lion chasers after all of the opportunities that God has given us: big and small. Be open to grabbing the lion’s mane and taking the risks so that you can take your life from good to great.