"Missed Opportunity"

November 30, 2022 | By Chuck

  “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison – that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (Col. 4:2-4). I love this because Paul is asking his brothers and sisters to pray for opportunities to share God’s Word. I pray that prayer, I really do. I pray that God opens doors and provides opportunities for me to talk to others about Him. And, I can honestly look back over many years and see now how God opened doors and provided opportunities for me to teach others.

            The sad and harsh reality is that I don’t always recognize the opportunity until it’s too late. Recently I was getting a haircut and the lady cutting my hair made an interesting comment as she was finishing. She said, “that’s how I know man came from monkeys.” What a wide-open door. What an obvious opportunity, at least you would think. I just stood up from her chair, paid for my haircut, and walked out the door without even commenting on her remark. The next day I’m in my office studying and it hit me right in the heart that I had missed an obvious open door and opportunity. I don’t have enough hair to go for another haircut so soon.

            Honestly, I was devastated and very frustrated with myself. I can give you all the excuses like it was late in the day and I was tired from working all day. Or, I have so little hair that the haircut was over so quickly.  No matter the excuses, the painful point is I missed an opportunity that God provided me to talk to someone about Him. It was such a good opportunity, and I missed it. I know I’ve missed other opportunities over the years, but this one seemed to sting a bit more. I still pray for open doors and opportunities, but now I also pray that God gives me the wisdom to see and take advantage of each opportunity.