“Pastor, when will my own time finally come, when will it be my turn to shine?”

Oh wow! I totally understand how you must be feeling right now. However, you need to understand that in this kingdom, we don’t shine or reign by turns, we reign by light. This means that waiting for your time or your turn would not be the appropriate thing to do, you need to access the light required for you to rise.

It’s unfortunate that many believers have misinterpreted Ecclesiastes 9:11. Yeah, that scripture that says, “Time and chance happens to them all”. If only they had taken time to understand the character of God, they would have understood the meaning of that statement. Let’s read the New Living Translation of that scripture;

Ecclesiastes 9:
11. I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

Did you see that? The objective of the writer wasn’t to encourage people with the now popular saying that “your time will come”; rather, his objective was to help us understand that just because we are wise, skillful or strong does not guarantee that we’d lead successful lives, we still need to maximize opportunities and be at the right place at the right time.

Solomon who wrote that scripture clearly understood what he was saying. Remember how he went to worship God after the throne was handed over to him. We were told that he offered a thousand burnt offerings unto God. Let’s read that account from scriptures;

2 Chronicles 1:
6 And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.
7 In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.
8 And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.
9 Now , O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.
10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?
11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
12 Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.

So first we see that Solomon took advantage of an opportunity, one which never presented itself as such. That’s right, the opportunity that would change your life may not always present itself as one. As a matter of fact, it may appear as a very difficult task. Sacrificing a thousand burnt offerings to God at once is a lot of sacrifice. That’s roughly a hundred thousand dollars or forty six million Naira if converted to our current economic value.

The most amazing part was that he offered that sacrifice as a worship offering, because no single request was made at the time of the presentation. Anybody who understands seed sowing and sacrifices knows that even without making a single request, Solomon had activated something big in heaven.

What happened next clearly indicated that going to that altar to make that sacrifice was the right thing at the right time. God appeared to Solomon and asked what he wanted Him to do for him. This was another opportunity for Solomon. Believe it or not, even if God did not appear to Solomon, the sacrifice he made already activated a possibility. But here was another opportunity before Solomon, and to God’s amazement, Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God’s people well. You know the rest of the story.

Why do we have many gifted and skilled people who are jobless in the society? Why do we have the strong among us beg for bread? Why do we have very wise yet poor people among us? The answer is in that scripture, being sensitive to opportunities and being at the right place at the right time. There are many young ladies who missed an opportunity to get married, just as there are many young talents who missed an opportunity to become a star.

Like I remarked earlier, these opportunities may not even appear as an opportunity, it is your responsibility to discern them. That’s why I always encourage believers to practice God’s word. The Word itself is full of opportunities and practicing it can position you at the right place at the right time. For instance, the bible says “he that gives to the poor shall not lack”. Isn’t that an opportunity to deal with lack and want in your life? The Bible also tells us that it shall be well with those who honour their parents. Isn’t that an opportunity to enjoy stability all the days of your life?

So you see, the bible is a book of opportunities, the more you practice what it says, the more your light shines. It begins by shining within you, then through you, and eventually around you for the world to see. Time and chance does not happen to everybody, we all have to take advantage of opportunities and be rightly positioned at all times.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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