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Opportunity knocks again!

Everyone get opportunities. Not everyone takes advantage of their opportunities. Opportunities have cycles and seasons. Most also have deadlines. The scriptures say that the ones who take advantage of opportunities are wise. But those who “sleep” during the harvest season and ignore opportunities act shamefully. The keys here are to be aware and ready when God provides us with the precious opportunities, and the mindset, fortitude and discipline to partner with God when He provides these opportunities. If you have missed past opportunities, don’t allow guilt and regret to overwhelm and paralyze you in any future opportunities. Instead, just ask God for forgiveness, and be ready as God will give you another opportunity. He will lovingly forgive you and reset the opportunity clock on your behalf!

Proverbs 10:5 “He who gathers during summer and takes advantage of his opportunities is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps during harvest and ignores the moment of opportunity is a son who acts shamefully.”

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It’s in our DNA!

As we look to nature, we can see that there are commands embedded in the animal’s DNA. As soon as a horse (Foal) is born, it immediately seeks to stand up and looks for its mother so it can begin to feed. It doesn’t need to go to school to learn these life skills and habits. The Proverbist taught that we need to look to the ant and learn from them: “Go to the ant, O lazy one; Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Overseer or ruler, she prepares her food in the summer and brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest. How long will you lie down, o lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?” Proverbs 6:6-8. They are “wired” for success. They have in their DNA the innate knowledge of how to work in their community, and exactly when to go get their food. They even know how to store their food for the winter. Two things stand out: a) They thrive because they are diligent and consistent and, b) each one does their part consistently. This consistency and “community-level” diligence allows the entire community to thrive and prosper each and every year. The proverbist told us to observe and learn from this. We are the only species that have the ability to choose to refuse to do the very things that can cause us to prosper and thrive. Our decision to go against what can help us can destroy us as well as our families. We can choose to take drugs, choose to smoke, choose to stay home and be lazy, choose to remain uneducated, choose to make excuses and blame others for our faulty decisions. We can also choose to be like the ant and embrace the very disciplines that will help us to thrive, grow, expand, learn, work toward a clear beneficial future, gather provisions in the summer for the winter season, etc. Today, God is reminding us that it is our responsibility to allow Him to re-wire us for success in our lives, and that includes rejecting the habits and patterns of laziness and failure and embracing new habits and patterns (like the ant) that will allow us to prepare our food in the summer, and bring in the provisions for the winter. No more excuses! It’s time to get to work!