I don’t know about you, but I love this time of year. Christmas has just ended; the house is fresh with gifts and leftovers and a new year is right around the corner. I love the thought of a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning. With my background I guess that seems to make sense. But this year more than ever before I am overflowing with optimism about what the New Year will bring. Personally I’ve got three huge new things to release in January alone. Not to mention a new book releasing later this spring, over twenty speaking engagements already booked and trips to Israel and Vietnam planned for the fall. But my feeling of excitement goes well beyond the little world I live in. I’m feeling a strong sense that God is about to do something in YOUR life that’s never been done. Yes that’s right. In YOUR life! You the faithful reader of this blog….
– The mom struggling with a son or daughter hooked on pills
– The dad wondering where your next paycheck is coming from
– The high school student overwhelmed with choices
– The recovering addict trying to rebuild what you destroyed
– The pastor wondering if he can do this job for another year
– The young adult fighting the urge to chase after their calling
For all of you, let me tell a secret…. I believe in YOU! I believe God has an opportunity in-store for you in 2014 that is so incredibly wonderful that when it hits you, it’s gonna knock you off your feet. And I want you to be ready for it. Because when opportunity knocks you over, you’ve gotta be ready to stand up and take on the challenge. Nothing good comes easy. You’ve heard that I’m sure. But I would go a step further and say nothing great comes without a HUGE step of faith. When you step out and answer the knock of opportunity, you better be ready. Your life could change in a way you’ve never imagined and all you have to do is be ready to stand up and take on the opportunity.
So what should you do? How do prepare yourself to answer the call of opportunity in 2014? Here are three suggestions:
- Be Prayed Up – Someone once told me that we must use prayer as our steering wheel, not our emergency brake. I love that analogy because it’s true and convicting at the same time. How often do we chase after something impulsively without ever hitting our knees to ask God for direction, wisdom and discernment? I know I do this all the time. But if we are going to answer the call of opportunity, we’ve got to stop. Everything must run through the filter of prayer. Decisions, relationships, money, business, choices, parenting, the list could go on and on. The bible says that the more we seek Him (God) the more we will find Him. So let’s get ready to answer the call of opportunity be seeking him more diligently in 2014.
- Be Partnered Up – There is not a doubt in my mind that God loves to use relationships to open up new opportunities in our lives. I could write a whole chapter about how much I believe in this. Oh wait, I did (shameless plug). Having the right people in your life could be what you need for the right opportunity to find you in 2014. And this is much easier then it may sound. Start by looking at who you are surrounding yourself with right now. Are they building you up? Challenging you? Opening doors? Connecting you to the right people? If not, start looking for some partners, mentors or friends that will. Finding these “right” people is as easy as asking yourself this simple question. Who has something that I want? No, I am not talking materially here, I am talking about character traits, personality, passions, common interests, education, sobriety and anything else you may deem valuable to you. When you find those people. Go after them! Right People = Right Opportunities
- Be Purposed Driven – There’s a reason why Rick Warren’s book was such a success. It was good and it changed people’s lives. If you’ve read the book you know it intentionally pushes you to a closer more meaningful relationship with God. Its intentionality was a huge part of its success. We must do the same thing in our lives to help guide us down the right path, towards the right opportunity in 2014. Being purpose driven means we know where we are going, how we are going to get there and who’s coming with us. We do this by setting goals and chasing after them with all the passion we can muster. So I challenge you today to start writing at least three goals for 2014. Make them specific, attainable and time bound. Here’s an example of one of mine:
I am going to sell 2000 books by 12-31-14
This is you’re year. This is our year! Don’t let anything stand in the way of what God wants to do in your life in 2014. Get prayed up, partnered up and purpose driven and then wait for God to knock you over with an opportunity that will change you’re live forever.
-Hope is Alive