Don't Wait For Opportunities To Come, Create Them!

 Saturday 1st October 2022

Happy new month! 😁

God wanted me to post sometime this week, which I was hesitant about because this is the last week of holiday before I got back to university in three days - so it's inevitably quite stressful. 

But what better time to post than the first of the month?

Before I begin, I just wanted to apologise for my inactivity. I know before I used to post every fortnight, now it's once a month or so. I'd only post if God tells me to do so. 

While this isn't a bad thing, it shouldn't be the only reason I post. You should always make time for God, not only when he tells you to do so. 

Another reason why I've been inactive is because I'm writing a book. 

From time to time, I used to write short stories on here which were linked to whatever topic I was talking about, so that gave me inspiration. I know  writing is one of my talents so I want to use it to glorify the Lord.

I've finished writing my book now, I just need to edit it for the 10th time 😓😆😅 I'm glad I wrote it too because I've learnt so many things about what to do and what not to do when writing a novel. 

One day when the book is published, I'll announce it and I'll let you guys now! I'm also going to do a sequel which I'm yet to plan. I've planned some parts of it though not everything. 

Speaking of, today's topic is going to be about how you shouldn't let your age prevent you from doing what you love. Or in other words, you shouldn't wait for an opportunity, you should create them. 

Other relevant topics will be incorporated, it won't be about this alone. Though it'll be the main thing, even if I don't talk about it fully or straight away.

 I didn't want to write a novel until after I finished university until I was encouraged to start now. 

While it has been fun, it hasn't always been a walk in the park. It's been hard and easy at the same time. There was a point before I turned it into a novel on Word where I was on writer's block for a very long time. 

I didn't have any ideas past a specific chapter, and I never thought I'd finish it - until God delivered.

I've replaced character names about 100 times and I've had to eradicate 20 pages and almost 10K words because they were redundant. So it originally had 448 pages and 113K words, now it has 423 and 105K words. Manuscripts have to be a certain way.

I haven't finished editing it yet so I know I'll remove more words.

Though it was enjoyable - if you have a plot and you know what you're doing, it's easier than if you have nothing planned. Then again some people work better without planning first which can rarely be me. I'll do an excerpt every 7th of the month until the book is published for real.

I started writing this post at around 2 in the afternoon but I'll probably be interrupted so it might not be posted until later, though anything can happen. So without further ado, let's get into it.

I preached this topic on Sunday in church so I  wanted to share with you guys again. 

I don’t normally preach since I'm really introverted but I wanted to share a topic on Sunday before I go back to university at least. In Jeremiah 4:1-10, God wanted Jeremiah to do something for him however Jeremiah was hesitant because he felt as though he was too young for God to use him. 

Let me reference Jeremiah 1:4-10 below.

4 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,
5 “Before I formed you in your mother’s body I chose you.
    Before you were born I set you apart to serve me.
    I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 “You are my Lord and King,” I said. “I don’t know how to speak. I’m too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I’m too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to. You must say everything I command you to say. 8 Do not be afraid of the people I send you to. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand. He touched my mouth and spoke to me. He said, “I have put my words in your mouth. 
10 Today I am appointing you to speak to nations and kingdoms. I give you authority to pull them up by the roots and tear them down. I give you authority to destroy them and crush them. I give you authority to build them up and plant them.”

A lot of Christians think that way, as in they're too young to be used by the Lord. 

But what you need to realise is  God can use anyone, irrespective of who you are or where you come from.

If you keep letting your age or maybe even situation prevent you from doing something for God, you’ll keep making excuses. God doesn’t make any excuses for us so we shouldn’t make any for him. At my home church my pastor said something which was delayed obedience is disobedience. 

I'll admit I did make some excuses as to why I couldn't post today, or on the day God initially asked me to, which was Thursday I believe though I can't remember from the top of my head. Then again, I was getting ready for university so it was inconvenient. It's not inconvenient today though.

Making excuses for God shows that you don't really value him. God doesn't want to be your top God, he wants to be your only God. Exodus 34:14 says God is a jealous God. God should be your only and number one priority, also as I keep reminding myself, delayed obedience is disobedience. 

At times there are instances where you do have to wait for something to happen. Proverbs 19:2 says desire without knowledge is not good - how much more will hasty feet miss the way! 

Sometimes God can tell you you're moving too quickly, for instance if you're making a very important decision, you'll inevitably have to slow down. And to preach on Sunday, I can't do it any other day of the week - so yes at times, you do have to wait to do an instruction, so don't think delayed obedience is always something negative.

God would rather have you obey him than sacrificing something for him.

Likewise, Hosea 6:6 says the following:

I want mercy and not sacrifice.
  I want you to recognize me as God
  instead of bringing me burnt offerings.

Which is similar to 1 Samuel 15:22

But Samuel replied, “What pleases the Lord more?
 Burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying the Lord?
It is better to obey than to offer a sacrifice.
    It is better to do what he says than to offer the fat of rams.”

So why exactly does God prefer mercy than sacrifice? You could be making sacrifices for the wrong reasons, for instance you want to impress other people. But when God tells you to do something, that’s normally between you and him. 

At times you might tell other people an instruction God wants you to do, which there is nothing wrong with. Just don't boast about it or overdo it when you listen to his instructions.

Occasionally, your prayers aren’t answered because there’s an instruction God wants you to do which you haven’t done yet. When God told me to preach on Sunday, I was hesitant. I’m not a fan of public speaking so if I ever have to do it, I will run – unless I don’t have a choice. 

And I was trying to avoid it but it kept lingering in my mind. If you refuse to obey God, the incomplete instruction he wants you to do will stay in your head. Never think you are too young to do something. You can do it, put your back into it!

Many successful people wished they started what they were doing at a younger age. Before I started writing my novel, I had to follow a specific manuscript format. It was a prerequisite for me to indent paragraphs a specific way, which was confusing and difficult at first however I got the hang of it.

I additionally did some research on authors who started writing when they were young and/or still at school. I discovered many current authors wish they started writing when they were younger, and likewise many authors finished their first novel when they were in their 20s. 

So yes, don't wait for an opportunity, create them. I have examples of this from the Bible. God telling Noah to build an ark.

13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to everyone. They have filled the earth with their harmful acts. I am certainly going to destroy them and the earth. 

14 So make yourself an ark out of cypress wood. Make rooms in it. Cover it with tar inside and out. 15 Here is how I want you to build it. The ark has to be 450 feet long. It has to be 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.

 16 Make a roof for it. Leave below the roof an opening all the way around that is a foot and a half high. Put a door in one side of the ark. Make lower, middle and upper decks. 

17 I am going to bring a flood on the earth. It will destroy all life under the sky. It will destroy every living creature that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 

18 But I will make my covenant with you. You will go into the ark. Your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives will enter it with you. 19 Bring a male and a female of every living thing into the ark. They will be kept alive with you. 

20 Two of every kind of bird will come to you. Two of every kind of animal will also come to you. And so will two of every kind of creature that moves along the ground. All of them will be kept alive with you. 

21 Take every kind of food that you will need. Store it away as food for you and them.” 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Noah didn't wait for the perfect opportunity for him to create the ark. He didn't say let me start when it is sunny or when the weather is bearable. The verse doesn't even mention the weather. Noah also didn't question God. 

We should strive to be like Noah and Abraham obedient to God's instructions and not questioning him when he tells you to do something.

Noah could've made umpteen excuses as to why he couldn't build the ark: inconvenient time, didn't have time, too time consuming... that's why you shouldn't wait for an opportunity. 

The 'right' opportunity can never come to you, and if it does, it could take forever. Who says the right opportunity will come quickly? What is it takes two decades?

Don’t worry if people criticise you for doing something for Christ, Jesus had enemies himself. People most likely criticised Noah for building the ark but he didn't let negative opinions get to him, and you shouldn't either. 

You only live once and life is too short to care about what other people think of you, especially strangers.

Matthew 5:10-12 says the following:

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Another instance of people in the Bible creating their own opportunity instead of waiting for it can be found in Matthew 4:18-22

Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 

19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 
20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Notice how they all followed Jesus immediately and at once.  They didn't wait for the perfect opportunity for them to do so, they listened to Jesus instantaneously, also without questioning him. 

They didn't let them being in a boat affect them - maybe they were far from Jesus or were worried they'd fall in the water. They were also just preparing their nets, which could've been another excuse, preparing it may have been time consuming.

God can use anyone, hence why you shouldn’t judge other people.  Matthew 7:1 says judge others and you will be judged, plus when you’re doing so, it actually says more about you than about the other person, whether you realise it or not.

You don’t know anyone’s story or what anyone has been through and even if you did, it gives you no right to judge. 1 Samuel 16:7 says God focuses on the Heart than on appearance. Let me reference it below:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Proverbs 31:30 goes on to talk about how charm is deceptive but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. Charm is nothing if your intentions aren’t genuine. God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. 

So the message for today is age is just a number, don’t let your age stop you from achieving your dreams.  And don't wait for opportunity, create it.

On the other hand, there are some times where you have to be older to achieve something, especially if you need to finish school first. But if there’s something you want to do for God with no age restriction, go ahead and do it.

Galatians 1:10 –  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Don’t focus on what others think, focus on what God thinks. This is because God’s opinion of you is never changing but others’ opinions of you can. Regardless, there are times you have to care: for instance if people are constantly pointing out a flaw about you, you should consider it.

“I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
 to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

Jeremiah’s age didn’t prevent him from serving Christ so it shouldn’t stop you. Just ensure your reasons for serving Christ are righteous and holy. 

I pray that God will help you achieve your destiny and purpose in life, amen. Thank you for listening and that’s all I have to say. 

So I was able to publish everything at once. I also had problems with the font so apologies. Hope you've learnt something today and I promise to be more active. xx