Opportunity Knocks

When opportunity knocks, do you always answer the door? I wouldn’t say that I always do. I can think of many times I have lived in disobedience when I have sensed God asking me to do something and I now live knowing that I missed a great opportunity. My goal, however, is to never miss another opportunity to serve Him.

So, when a job at the school opened up last week, I had to explore it. We have always said that the one full-time job that both of us would be willing for me to take would be one at the school because we’ve just always had a vision that I would eventually work there. And, this is probably the main job in the school that I think I could do and do well.

The announcement was made on Thursday (Feb. 14th) that this position was open. Mike forwarded the email to me at work… I have to admit, my work suffered that day. I couldn’t think about anything else it seemed. I inquired about the position via email on Thursday evening and received a response with a job description on Friday morning. I spent Friday afternoon polishing my resume and sent it via email that day. I got a call from the person conducting the interviews on Tuesday and we finally spoke on the phone Wednesday morning. I have an interview on Friday afternoon.

In the midst of all this hubbub, I’ve been doing some self examination and discovery. It was like Mike forwarding me the email about the job opening was the trigger that got my mind to open up as I began to consider whether or not to throw my hat in the ring for this job. As I tried to figure out why this job was now coming open when I’ve just been at my current job for 5 months, I became dreadfully aware of some areas of my life where I have been struggling with temptation that I have been denying for a couple of months now. And it became apparent to me that taking a different job may be a way out of some of this temptation. It weighed so heavy on me until I made the decision to go ahead with pursuing this job opportunity.

However, I became very keenly aware just within the last day or so that the deeper temptation that I have definitely given into deals with my thought life and vain imaginations. Even if taking a different job takes some of the temptation away, my thoughts are still with me and need to be taken captive.

As I have come to this realization, that it’s not just something outside that is tempting me, but something within my flesh, I have desperately calling on God to take the thoughts away. I looked back on our BSF lesson earlier in the year about Christ’s temptation. I remembered how He overcame temptation using the same tools we have today: the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. This week’s lesson also spoke to me as we discussed briefly the passage in Matthew 17:14-21 where Jesus talks of mustard seed faith. That even with that little bit of faith, we can tell a mountain to move by His power and it will. I am challenged to have that faith and to boldly, in the power of the Holy Spirit, tell this mountain of thoughts and temptation to move out of my way!

Something else that spoke to me as I considered the possibility of interviewing for a different job was a passage that we studied last week. Matthew 16:24 is where Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Like so many other verses and passages we have studied, I have heard this many times, but it really came to life this week.

Think of the cross. It was an act of Jesus putting aside his own will for that of the Father’s. Taking up my own cross is the same thing. It’s not that the mere inconveniences of life are “my cross to bear.” My cross is where my will for my life differs from God’s. It is where I allow my own plan for my life to die to willingly let God’s plan be fulfilled.

And it’s not negotiable. The way I see it from this passage, this is part of following Christ. Either we are allowing our own will to die and follow Him or we don’t allow our own will to die and therefore cannot be following Him.

Our teaching leader asked at the end of last weeks lecture, “What are you willing to deny yourself in order to accomplish God’s purpose for your life?” I had to answer that question that I was willing to deny myself the comfort I have in my existing job if need be.

Opportunity is knocking. And as uncomfortable as it can conceivably be, I’m answering the door. We just wait and see at this point if it is a door that I will walk through, or if it will close again.