Transition – Opportunity Produces Ministry

When we examine the life of Joseph, we find that Joseph made the decision to believe God. This is the most critical desion that anyone can make. Once Joseph made his decision, he stuck with it despite all the negative circumstances that he landed in. Sticking with this decision allowed Joseph to excel in both his work and work ethic.

Genesis 39:2-3 NLT
(2) The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
(3) Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

Joseph was annointed for business and administratration. In fact, Joseph was not only able to read and write, but also able to interpret diagrams and architectural drawings. He was more than capable in this area and Potiphar noticed this.

When you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing the right people will notice you. The world calls this luck or brown-nosing. Whatever it is that you are called to do will not grow beyond a seed unless you grow it in the proper environment. Joseph was just a boy, a younger brother to be tolerated by Isreal and his family. To Potiphar in Egypt, Joseph was a capable, shrewd administrator.

It did not happen only to Joseph. Step through the Bible and look at opportunities taken. David took the opportunity to move beyond the “back forty” into the Palace. Remember, nobody told David to fight Goliath, yet it released the warrior in David.

1 Samuel 17:23-37 NLT
(23) As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
(24) As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.
(25) “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
(26) David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
(27) And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”
(28) But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
(29) “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”
(30) He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.
(31) Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
(32) “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
(33) “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
(34) But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,
(35) I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
(36) I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
(37) The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the LORD be with you!”

Solomon took the opportunity to pass up riches and wealth to gain wisdom. That wisdom was known throughout the European and Middle-Eastern Areas. He was so wise, that world leaders came to him with their riches seeking what the wisdom he had asked for. Solomon is the embodiment of:

Proverbs 24:3-5 NLT
(3) A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.
(4) Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
(5) The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

Paul took the opportunity to be redeemed.

Acts 22:6-21 NLT
(6) “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.
(7) I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
(8) “‘Who are You, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you are persecuting.’
(9) The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.
(10) “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’
(11) “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.
(12) A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus.
(13) He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!
(14) “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and hear Him speak.
(15) For you are to be His witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
(16) What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
(17) “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.
(18) I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about Me.’
(19) “‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.
(20) And I was in complete agreement when Your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’
(21) “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”

What opportunities have been staring you down from the other side of the crisis you are facing. Remember this: Battle is the seed for territory. Battle is also the seed for your future. If you choose to let the crisis go unchallenged, it will grow into a mountain. Take the opportunities and exploit them for God. After all, how many mountains does it take before you are hemmed in and your progress is nullified?