IT 🙂 Happens2usALL

Ecclesiastes 9:11 states “Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”

I don’t think it signifies to us that we shouldn’t work to be swift, strong, wise, intelligent, knowledgeable… But it does say that the most important component to achieving great success is that you have an ability to discern and appreciate the moment(s) of time–of your historical journey AND you can exploit or take advantage of the OPPORTUNITY that comes to US ALL! 

This is pretty good news for someone who may feel as if they are the “least in the game”, carrying the disadvantage, seemingly behind everyone with regard to development of certain skills… IT 🙂 happens to us all. TIME & OPPORTUNITY.

The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth…” a great and effective door has opened to me and there are many adversaries.” I love the language here! Paul does not in this moment focus on his own effectiveness, preparation, or skill! He admits that it is the DOOR, the opportunity that is GREAT & EFFECTIVE. This season of my life is not as much about what i can do as much as it is about walking into arranged, appointed, calculated opportunities that WORK FOR ME! Do you get it?

The door, the moment, the relationship…is GREAT & EFFECTIVE so it takes the pressure and focus off of my performance and entices me into a head-on-crash collision with GRACE!

 By Paul’s admonition, “A great and effective door has opened to me AND there are many adversaries” we are more ENCOURAGED than Warned and Alarmed. 

Doors appear when adversity is near. Historically, adversity has acted as a surrogate for some of the greatest MOVEMENTS we have ever witnessed.

Adversity’s biggest problem is that he reveals the opportunity and essentially marks the spot that reveals where the HIDDEN opportunity is buried.  By his very opposition, Adversity discloses the exact place where you should DIG-in. 

Where there is great protest I expect to find the great blessing, elsewise what are you trying to keep away from me?  If it were bad for me, surely you would just step aside! The gates of hell (doors) often try to prevail and put up a great show in order to keep us from entering into a door for which WE ALREADY POSSESS the KEY.  To hell with defensive, reactionary living. Let’s mount a mighty OFFENSE.

I leave you with these great words spoken by the prophet Zechariah…
Not by power, nor by might, but by MY SPIRIT says the Lord-