“Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Eph 5:17
How to best discern opportunities in this life? Before tackling this BIG topic in one little page we’re wise to understand that God has lessons He is determined to have us learn in this life, and He will creatively use many vehicles to this end. Our personal opportunities aren’t as important as what we do with them and how we do it.
How to best discern opportunities in this life? Before tackling this BIG topic in one little page we’re wise to understand that God has lessons He is determined to have us learn in this life, and He will creatively use many vehicles to this end. Our personal opportunities aren’t as important as what we do with them and how we do it.
What we do with “opportunities” and our personal conduct is a direct reflection of what we truly believe. Question: Are our daily choices and bigger decisions based on eternal perspectives or are they primarily influenced from our temporal earthly vantage point?
In Num. 13:17-20 After promising the Israelites a extraordinary land of their own and before blessing them with it, God directs Moses to send some men to explore this land to gather information. Moses obeys God and sends a scout team on a 40-day venture into the heartland of enemy territory. The result? The scouts gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. (Like God promised.) BUT the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…the land we explored devours those living in it.” Num. 12:28; 32.
We can examine these verses from numerous angles, but the one we’ll highlight here is this: God promised His Jews this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And indeed, after gathering information (as we should do when we are discerning opportunities), this promise proved to be true. But, these scouts also discovered some very real obstacles standing between them and this divine promise.
~Where the Israelites failed was in their next move. Instead of wholeheartedly seeking God and transparently taking their very real concerns to Him (fervent prayer and seeking Godly counsel), they tragically chose to focus on the temporal obstacles and abandon the promise.
(A side note: Discerning what is of God and what is not of God only comes through fostering a vibrant relationship with God Almighty. In our personal lives we are wise NOT to assume that every good opportunity is of Divine origin.)
(A side note: Discerning what is of God and what is not of God only comes through fostering a vibrant relationship with God Almighty. In our personal lives we are wise NOT to assume that every good opportunity is of Divine origin.)
Personal example: We Cleary’s are currently in a private time of ‘discerning opportunities’, but let us share with you a time in our past when we were given a divine promise, a promise that manifested itself so differently than what we’d envisioned, we almost missed it. ~This was our move from the Bay Area to SB over 14 years ago.
God made it indisputably clear that we were supposed to sell our business and move to Santa Barbara, but this was NOT something we wanted... or envisioned. (Can you believe this? Not wanting to move to Santa Barbara? Claw marks can still be seen all the way down the 101 from Betsy’s fingernails!) Thankfully we followed God’s lead and made this difficult move. The result? We have been amazingly blessed in so many realms, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But, please don’t assume that because we’ve found blessing, we did not experience hefty difficulty and heartache along the way. Be assured, we did.
The bottom-line? When discerning opportunities, cultivate a vibrant relationship with the Lord, gather information, seek divine counsel, and pray unceasingly for Him to reveal a divine thumbs up or thumbs down. And remember, God’s promise may not be the picture we’ve had in our head.
Much love this week as we walk in faith together,
Shaun and Betsy
