Taking our opportunities

How many opportunities have we missed in the past? We can think of all kinds of reasons and excuses for not taking up the challenge but in the end, they were still opportunities that went begging. Now can we think of the opportunities we did take up and how grateful we felt when we did step out in faith and we were blessed and other people were blessed too. Sometimes it is a question of risk. How big a risk do we want to take? But often these opportunities are sent our way by God. God will still love us the same even if we say No, or let the chances slip by. But it is not just us who God is thinking of, he is also sending these opportunities to bless others.

The question then is how do we know that God has sent these opportunities our way? If we think that circumstances have just thrown up this chance then perhaps, we will be less inclined to take a risk, but even so God uses circumstances to bring about his will. If we can be sure that God is behind the opportunity then we will take a bigger risk because we know that God will equip us and give us the resources to complete the task. What also helps us is our experience. If we have stepped out in faith before and God has been good to us and the opportunity has brought great blessing to us and others then we will be encouraged again to step out in faith.

When we learn to walk, our first few steps are bound to be wobbly and we will feel unsure of ourselves. We might fall on our face a few times but we get up and we try again. It is the same when we try and walk trusting God for the outcome. We might get it wrong sometimes, we might be embarrassed but we continue as we learn to listen to God and be sensitive to his guiding Spirit.

I would like to think that as a church we are stepping out in faith, we are trusting God to provide the resources we need to undertake the task he is putting before us. One of the recent ventures we have undertaken is the Charity Shop which is now open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It seemed a huge task to start it but with the help of a lot of people and the generosity of the community we are now open for everyone to come and see what is happening.

What is God nudging you to do? To step out your comfort zone and try something new.

God Bless Peter