Opportunities...An Opened Door or Something You Create?

A favorite aspect of my podcast is sharing a quote each day. For 2019 I gifted myself a new book of quotes, one quote for each day.

Each Friday on the podcast I do a segment called, Faith Filled Friday. This morning, the quote for January fourth paired with my message on opportunities. I love the way God works when we are open to see Him leading us.

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The quote I shared from Chris Grosser, "Opportunities don't happen, you create them." As I read this, my head started to shake left to right. It contradicted the message I planned to share. It only took a few seconds to decide the next step, move forward as planned. It was an example of the message I planned to share today.

The verses for today are Ephesians 5:1-16, focusing on verses 15 and 16. Opportunity is defined as "1) a favorable juncture of circumstances and 2) a good chance for advancement or progress." according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Keeping this in mind, we don't create our opportunities but instead accept our circumstances and access the to move us forward, when it 's God placing the opportunity before us.

"Be very
careful, then,
how you live--
not as unwise
but as wise, 
making the
most of every opportunity, 
because
the days
are evil."
​
Ephesians 5:16 - 17 NIV

" So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don’t run around like idiots as the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times."
Ephesians 5:16 - 17 VOICE

"Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil."
Ephesians 5:16 - 17 AMP

I encourage you to listen to today's podcast. We can't create an opportunity. Opportunities are unexpected and out of our control. When an opportunity is placed before us, the only way to know if is God opening a door or the latter, is to be reading our Bible.

There was a time in my life when I focused on creating my next step, thanks to my faith and age, I've learned opportunity is placed before us, not created. Have you learned this too?

What opportunities has God placed before you today?