A New Horizon: Making Use of Opportunities to Begin

There is always a new horizon. The moment you acknowledge a failed attempt, right there is a new horizon – an opportunity to begin. Our time, opportunities, and experiences are as important as our life. To waste your time and opportunities is to waste your life. Permit me to say that letting significant opportunities slip off your grasp, is like risking your life. Like this lyric of the song “Walk with me” by Calledout Music, that says “… but life is not a game I don’t know why you’d waste it. Please take my hand and order my steps. I see the gift of life in every breath”. Though, the context is different, life is not a game where you can miss opportunities and get another.

It is important you allow God lead and order your steps as you lay hold the opportunities He presents. Like the writer of the aforementioned lyric said, “see the gift of life in every” opportunity available for you.

It is important you know how to identify opportunities, because you can only make use of the opportunities you recognize. Some people are blind to opportunities because they have limited the word to lucrative assistance or help. Some think an opportunity is all about meeting their “divine helper”. All these myths about opportunities have done more harm than good by clouding the mind of young ones with fantasies. That they become blind to the realistic opportunities before them. Teenagers and youth worldwide, especially in Nigeria, are so full of fantasy and unnecessary comparison, pushing them to desire things they are not prepared to receive. Many teenagers are more focused on gambling and fraud than they are on their studies or skill, because they have failed to realize the authentic opportunities available to them, but rather focus on temporary pleasures. 

Making use of Opportunities

An opportunity does not have to involve finance to be an opportunity. Money is needed and that’s true,  but  you having futuristic mindset will help build a life of financial prosperity and stability now and in the future. If only you are able to see the gold in the dirt of small opportunities. Making use of opportunities to begin an accountability journey, volunteering, a book review group, saving towards a project, serving etc. All these are small opportunities that can pave way for bigger opportunities in the future. Like a friend of mine said, they are all part of the process for a “bigger picture”- a bigger, better and braver you, that is prepared for the big opportunities coming your way.

A new horizon should be in line with purpose. Not all horizon are new after all, some are repetitive. As important as it is to begin something, it is foundational that whatever you get into is in line with God’s purpose for your life. To avoid turning in circles, make sure you have clarity of that which you are to begin. If you have not been able to discover your purpose in God, then I recommend a retreat, and try to read this book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. If you learn to maximize opportunities that are related to your God revealed purpose, it will help you grow in line with God’s will for your life and reduce the number of failed attempts. There is a saying that “when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable”. Permit me to say that a step taken outside of purpose is abusing one’s life. So, don’t abuse your life. Discover purpose and make use of opportunities in line with your God revealed purpose. To enlighten you more on the subject of purpose, I recommend this article Created For a Purpose. 

What does God say?

To make use of opportunities to begin, you must let go of all fear. Fear contradicts a lot of things. If you are scared, you lose your peace, confidence, love and passion. Fear of failure; fear of rejection; fear of challenges; fear of the future; fear of poverty and lack; and the fear of making mistakes. All these are fears that the devil introduces to your mind, especially when you are about to begin something great that will bring glory to God. The bible made it known that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. A “sound mind” because the devil uses fear to destabilize your mind and prevent you from making the right decision in love. 

When you allow fear into your mind, you lose your power, love and ability to think straight. That’s why one of the vital training for military personnel, pilots, doctors and many life saving careers, is the ability to remain calm under pressure, especially when faced with life threatening challenges. It is important that you learn to control your fears and take your thoughts captive. When there is fear; greed, self, foolishness, clumsiness and wrong decisions set in. Do not allow the devil to rob you of a glorious future because of fear. Take your fear to God in prayer like the bible says in Philippians 4:6-7, be grateful to God for the experiences you have had in time past and trust Him to see you through as you step into a new horizon. Try to read this write up;  Me and My Fears by Victoria Nwachukwu to understand how fear works and how you can triumph over it.

Finally

The greatest opportunity to begin you can ever make use of is the opportunity to begin life with Christ Jesus. If you are reading this and you have been shunning opportunities to start life over again on the Lord’s side, then you have been living like life is a game. You have been risking and wasting your life. A life without Jesus is dangerous. A life without Jesus is a life of uncertainty, dirt and death. But the good news is that as long as you are alive, the opportunity remains. Jesus is waiting for you to grab the ever available opportunity you have to begin life with Him. Are you going to snub Him? Will continue going in circles? Are you going to keep living a life without purpose? Jesus loves you and He is waiting for you to make use of the best opportunity that can ever be. A new horizon with Jesus