Welcome.
A fortnight ago we were at our discipleship class when someone asked a question as regards opportunity. His question was simple yet very deep and it was; ‘What does opportunity look like’?
In answering his question we first had to understand what he meant by the word opportunity […] We arrived at the common idea most of us have that opportunity is when laws are suspended or broken on our behalf so we can go faster than everyone else.
The problem is when we see opportunity as explained above, a lot of us end up compromising and cutting corners to get ahead thinking we are opportune only to find out that when the opportunity is given us to take others to the same result we cannot. While this is not a post to debate the morality of what some of us call opportunity; it is a post to highlight that understanding opportunity enhances our influence of others; which incidentally is leadership.
So if opportunity isn’t just getting ahead, what then is?
As we continued our discussion, we agreed that opportunity usually appears like work and an ability to see its potential is what separates leaders from others.
For the purposes of this post however, opportunity is being in God’s place, in God’s time, following God’s instructions to obtain God ordained results. Yes, it is my opinion that the true nature of opportunity is embedded in the PURPOSE for which it is released and recognised.
Every dreamer has a WHY for his dream and the reason why we do not relent until we successfully birth the dream in our heart is our WHY. The question is; have you ever wondered who put that WHY in your heart? Seriously, why of all the dreams in the world did you pick…? I know someone will say something like; ‘well, it became my dream because something happened to me…’ and my response will be; ‘why of all the people on earth did whatever, happen to you’? Or better still, ‘why of all those who have had the same experience does it matter to you this much’?
No matter how we cut it; it seems to me that someone is in charge and that someone leads and inspires us in the direction we are headed. That is why for me the easiest, simplest and clearest definition for opportunity is;
God’s place, in God’s time, following God’s instructions to obtain God’s results.
Understanding opportunity this way keeps us accountable. So when whatever we do does not seem or feel like an ordained place for us, we can safely say it isn’t an opportunity regardless of how nice it may seem. What I mean opportunity must feel like it is the place to be even when it doesn’t make sense.
Secondly opportunity is operating within God’s time. This means we pursue based on the expediency of the season. The Bible; the all-time template says “…all things are expedient but not all things are lawful”. What this means within the context of today’s post is that there are a few things that we might have been able to do given a different time or circumstance that we might not be able to do now because seasons have changed. If this happens in your dream chase, it is safe to say that even though in another season that might have been an opportunity, for NOW it is not. This understanding qualifies opportunity as God’s time. This answers to the WHEN of our dream.
The third part of our definition says following God’s instruction. Like I said, earlier, every dreamer has a WHY. That WHY is the driving force and motivation for the things we do. What I didn’t point out however, is the fact that for every WHY there is a HOW and a WHAT.
So while I am good at using words, I have had to narrow myself to using them to encourage, inspire, educate and empower others. The reason why I have confined myself to using words in these ways is because my instruction from the one who sent me says specifically to do that. The thing with instruction is that a lack thereof can become abuse of the very thing that was meant to be an opportunity. What this means is if I am presented the opportunity to use words but somehow that opportunity will not encourage, inspire, educate and empower others, regardless of how juicy it may seem; I should not take it because it deviates from the instructions I have been given.
Final part of our definition of opportunity is ‘… to obtain God’s results’. Back to the example I gave about words above; one of the reasons why I will not use words in a manner that will adversely affect others is simple; the results I will get will not be God’s results. Does this mean that I always am in the frame of mind to use words that build? No it doesn’t mean that; what this means is because I know I am working to get certain results; even when it is the logical thing to do, I will work away and not take the opportunity.
So what is the point of this post you ask? It is my hope that it will help bring clarity in times when you are not quite sure if what you have is an opportunity or not. I know I have sometimes found it hard to tell whether what I am faced with is opportunity or not. I have even walked through doors that ended up not delivering on the promise of opportunity which is; peace, progress, fulfilment and increase. However, with this definition I can now take a critical look and tell if what I am about to embark on truly is an opportunity.
So what happens if you have walked through the wrong doors? Well, God allows U-turns. Just do a quick U at the designate turn and keep going.
You will make it NeverTheLess, I am confident you will.
Here is to your success!
Bidemi