How To Have The Courage To Risk Our Greatest Opportunities

The greatest opportunities are usually completely unexpected so—we must always be ready. God is all about giving His children BIG opportunities but no opportunity comes without risk; thus, there is only one way to make sure we NEVER lack the courage to take the risk: 

We better be aware that we have a BIG God! 

Focus for a minute on what “the greatest opportunity” does NOT mean: a chance to collect the riches or success of this world. Remember, in yesterday’s devotional, we discussed how Jesus said only a “fool” would store up riches that he can’t take with him? I don’t want to chase this definition too much, but I do want to ensure that we understand that the GREATEST opportunities God gives us are not purely temporal; rather, they eclipse anything we possess on this earth. God’s opportunities make us part of an eternal history that we humans get to write to bring glory to Him forever. 

There is no worthy earthly comparison to the eternal opportunities God gives us.

Let’s take an example from the Bible that nearly everyone knows: The story of David and Goliath. [You may read the full story in 1 Samuel 17.] Goliath was a 9 foot tall seasoned warrior whose armor alone weighed over a 100 pounds. Meanwhile, David was a young shepherd who had never been trained for warfare. Not even one experienced warrior in the entire Israeli army would take on Goliath’s challenge to fight. One day, while David was delivering food to his elder brothers who were on the battle front, he heard Goliath’s challenge. This was an amazing opportunity which came at great risk; but David didn’t see that the risk was greater than His God. He boldly asked: 

“Who is this Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

(1 Samuel 17:26) 

David’s brothers derided him and called him boastful. He was undeterred. He went to King Saul and requested to be allowed to fight Goliath [after all, he wasn’t even in the Armed Forces.] The conversation went like this:

David said to Saul, 

“Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 

Saul said, 

“You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” 

But David said to Saul, 

“Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” 

And Saul said to David, 

“Go, and the Lord be with you!”

‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭17‬:‭32‬-‭37‬ ‭‬‬ 

WHY did David have the courage to take the risk and grab this opportunity to fight Goliath?

Ah, my friend, he had a history with God. He spent years of preparation in God’s presence while tending sheep in the wilderness. God had given him victories during the time of preparation which assured him of GOD’s power and dependability; and thus, he had COURAGE to take the RISK and capitalize on an OPPORTUNITY that required immediate action! His preparation with God gave him CONFIDENCE in GOD. Immediately before David killed Goliath with a mere sling-shot and a stone, this was the verbal exchange:

When [Goliath] looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. He said to David,

“Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” 

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods and said, 

“Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” 

Then David said, 

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭17‬:‭42‬-‭47‬ ‭‬‬

 David understood that the battle belonged to GOD. It wasn’t the power of positive thinking; it wasn’t field preparation; it wasn’t even his own “self-confidence” for having killed a lion or a bear! He knew it was ALL God. But you see, my friend, we only build this kind of confidence in God when we spend time absorbing His Word. We must know who God is; what His character is, what His attributes are, and—we must have experience walking with Him. 

When our desire is to glorify God—EVERY battle belongs to HIM!

God is true to his promises, and WILL give us VICTORY when we desire to give HIM glory. God would have given anybody the power to overcome Goliath if they have had the kind of courage and faith in God that David had. 

Opportunities are mostly unexpected and take us by surprise; and so we have to be ready with the confidence and courage of faith in God to seize the opportunity when it arises. To recognize and pursue the opportunities, we must saturate ourselves with the Word of God. When we KNOW that God is the sovereign controller of all things, we are as comfortable facing the giants as we are asleep in our bed. Invest in quality time with God so when the opportunity comes, you are prepared with the knowledge to give you courage to dive in!

A BIG opportunity doesn’t come without a BIG risk; prepare yourself—be aware that you have a BIG God!

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