Missed Opportunities

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30)

Sometimes we allow our lives to get so busy that we actually miss life.  We look at our clocks and watches and think where has the time and the day gone.  We even try to rehash the day minute by minute to see how we missed so much.  Just as time sometimes eludes us, so does our priorities.   As we go about our daily lives, at the end of the day do we assess what have we done for the Lord?   The word of God in Acts 1:8 say we are witnesses.  “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  Have we exhausted all our power and energy on ourselves and have none left over for anyone else?  The bible lets us know that the Holy Spirit is the one that reproves the world; so He depends on us as vessels to speak to others “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted”  (John 16:8-11 MSG).  So as that person pass right by us on the job, on the street, or at the store, do we miss that divine opportunity because the noise of our busyness tunes out the whisper of the Holy Spirit?  As we pass that person we don’t hear Him(Holy Spirit) say “grab that soul, I’m touching their heart right now.  They are part of that plenteous harvest who are ready for a laborer” “³⁶But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.³⁷ Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;³⁸ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).    How many souls will we meet in heaven and they say, I was in the coffee shop and I saw you sitting at the table next to me but you didn’t say anything.  They then tell you when they left the coffee shop, someone outside told them about Jesus.  They became the fruit of someone else because you missed your opportunity “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).  So the next time we are out let’s look up from our phones so that we don’t miss the lost, wounded, and hurting souls passing by because we are texting.  Let’s get up each morning and ask the Holy Spirit to let us be a blessing to someone today.

Prayer:

Father forgives us for every lost soul that You let cross our path but we never labored in that harvest.  Touch our hearts that we will have compassion for the lost.  Touch our ears so that we will hear every word that Your Spirit speaks to us.  Lord we thank You.   We avail ourselves to Your will in 2 Peter 3:9, that no man perish but come to repentance, so that as your disciples we will not allow another MISSED OPPORTUNITY to declare your name.  Hallelujah!

THE SLUMBERING EYES

 The eyes are at rest

Totally without sight

They sleep and slumber as though

It’s the still of the night

They don’t see the man begging for alms

Who’s lying on the street

They don’t see the woman knocking on doors

Looking for something to eat

They don’t see the child carrying a child

With so few years’ difference in age

They don’t see the man walking the street

Trying to find the key out of his oppressed cage

Wake up! Wake up!

Oh, slumbering eyes

For the sun shines in a new day

Or have your own tears of success washed all your sight away?

Oh, God, in heaven I beseech thee for so long have I prayed

Please restore sight in those slumbering eyes that sleep during the day.

(Written by: Kathy Grant)