The philosopher Seneca the Younger said, ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.’ As we read in the Bible about people that God used to accomplish great things, we’ll discover that a lot of their time was spent preparing for what seems like a relatively brief assignment. The ego in each of us craves two things – limelight and lastingness! But with God only one thing matters: doing His will. When we can say like Paul, ‘I have finished the race,’ we’ll know we’ve lived successfully. Whether we’re called to business, art, education, politics, medicine, or ministry, this principle is constant: opportunity comes to those who are prepared. God uses people who are willing to put in the preparation and take time to learn and grow. That means every experience we have in life has potential value. But it’s not enough to just get prepared and ready; we must stay ready. Solomon wrote, ‘Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life’ (Proverbs 4:13 NIV). To put it in a practical context, knowledge in most fields doubles about every five years. That means unless we’re prepared to keep growing and learning, we’ll end up with outdated skills that don’t match the challenges of the world we’re living in. Think of the technology we had just a few years ago compared to what we have now. It’s constantly changing, and that means we have to constantly adapt and be open to new experiences and ways of doing things; otherwise, we’ll get left behind and struggle to pick up where we left off. So let’s look out for new opportunities and be prepared for God to tell us to move.

What Now?

At the end of each day for the next week, write a few notes about anything you’ve learned from the things you’ve experienced during the day. At the end of the week, thank God for the list of things you’ve learned!