Taking advantage of opportunities - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Chron 7-9
MAXIMIZING OPENINGS Saturday, July 03, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men” (Prov. 22:29) READ: Ephesians 4:26-28 The one who will flourish will need God’s favor.  That fellow will also need to be hard working because God cannot prosper the lazy.  I have seen several people who want to flourish but they don’t want to work hard.  Sometimes, when I go round in the camp at 10 am, I see some workers just having their breakfast. Those who will flourish are early risers. They work while others are asleep. To excel or reach the top, you must know how to effectively channel your energy towards work. Hebrews 11:6 says for God to reward you, you must first demonstrate diligence in seeking Him. Proverbs 22:29 says God has one place for the diligent -the top. Many people ask God to open doors of breakthrough to them. But when He does, laziness stops them from entering and garnering all the harvest they could have from them. Open doors means it’s time to work hard.  It means more assignments, responsibility and hardwork. It means taking on more assignments that will add to your income without necessarily stopping what you are presently doing, or withdrawing your commitment to God’s service. This calls for hardwork and effective time management.  Some people who cannot effectively manage their time, end up becoming less committed to God when He opens a door of blessing to them. That is wrong. That open door should not draw you away from your present level of commitment to God’s Kingdom. Many years ago, while still lecturing, my Dean came to me one day and said that he had discovered from the students that I was the best lecturer in Mathematics. I thanked him for the compliment. Then he told me they were about to start a correspondence course and that I have been chosen to prepare the course materials and would be well remunerated. Later, he said I was nominated to take some technical students in Maths. In addition, Lagos Anglican Girls Grammar school needed a Maths teacher and I was sent. CMS Grammar school also needed me for their HSC Advanced level  Maths. I took up all these openings in addition to my normal duty yet, every weekend I would still travel to go and preach. At the end of the day, what I earned from these extra teaching engagements was more than my salary.  When God opens doors to you, do you make His work to suffer? You should maximize the advantage of open doors to the Glory of God and your enhancement. ACTION POINT: Father, grant me grace to maximize every door you open to me without reducing my commitment toYou.