There are three ways to locate and maximize opportunities.

In a search

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

You will never find what you are not looking for. It is your responsibility to seek out how God’s gifts in you can produce results. You may ask yourself, “What can I add to the system? What contribution can my life make?” You sincerely search for what your gifts can produce, to find your place in the system. You strive to find where you can contribute something to life and make an impact.

Do you know why this is necessary? Opportunity is in high demand. If it doesn’t come to you, you must go in search of it. Conduct a meticulous search for opportunities! Something within you is longing to be expressed. Seek where to express it, and enjoy the benefits it will bring you. Locate where your skills or knowledge are in demand and sell them.

You are a person of great value, endowed with great gifts. Seek where these treasures can be maximized and put to use.

“And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?‘” Matthew 20:6

In this parable, we discover that the world is a marketplace where everyone has something to sell. Therefore, locate where what you have is needed, and sell it at a good price. Jesus found some idle individuals in this marketplace of life. When He asked why they were standing around doing nothing, they replied, “Because no one wants to hire us.” And His response was, “Go to work!” Meaning: if no one hires you, work for yourself!

A young man from our church is now in the USA. He is an American citizen. When he returned to his homeland, Nigeria, things went bad for his parents. During the construction of the sanctuary, he found a way to make money to pay for his ticket back. He was on the construction site every day, dressed in rags and carrying mortar. His expression caught my attention. He spoke clear English, and I immediately realized this young man didn’t belong there.

One evening, his mother brought him to me, asking me to pray for him as he was leaving for the USA the next day. I asked him how he got the money for his plane ticket, and he replied, “Through the construction of the tabernacle!”

Opportunities abound, but people are afraid of the labor they require. People don’t like to work, which is why they cry that there are no opportunities. Jesus said, “Go to work.” This means there is something to do. It’s up to you to find it. God does not give wealth to people; He pays them for the services they render. You cannot get more out of life than what you put into it. A wise man once said, “Some people find life empty because they have put nothing into it.”

Creating opportunities

If, after your search, you find no opportunities, create one. The woman with the issue of blood said to herself (through productive reasoning), “There is no way to reach this man with such a crowd. But if I can just touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.” She created an opportunity for her healing. Through creative reasoning, you generate opportunities. “It can be done.” “I can do something here.” If no one hires me, I’ll hire myself!

Creative reasoning helps you locate good deals. You have creativity inherited from God. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. All things were made by Him, and as a result, we are co-heirs with the same creative abilities as Christ. You can create. You can generate something.

Seizing opportunities

On some occasions, you won’t need to search for opportunities, as they will come to you. They will present themselves right before your eyes.

During my early schooling, I came across a book by an author who was a palm wine tapper and didn’t even understand English. I discovered that the stories in the book were simply folklore his parents had told him. I grew up with the elders, so I knew most of these stories. I concluded that this would be an advantage for me in the future.

I immersed myself in reading African novels, and in my spare time, I wrote down all the stories my grandmother and uncles told me. That’s how I started writing. I would write articles and send them to my older brother for correction, and he would send them back to me.

That’s how I spent my free time, not knowing that one day I would sit down and write eight chapters of a book in one night! That’s what it means to seize an opportunity. They abound around you. “Many eyes look, but few see,” a wise man said. May you see the abundant opportunities surrounding you!

As you look through the Scriptures, you will encounter people who became prominent through the opportunities that presented themselves to them and that they seized. David saw in Goliath (whom he killed) an opportunity to ascend to the throne in Israel. Joseph saw an opportunity through the king’s cupbearer in prison. After interpreting his dream, he said to him, “Remember me when you are in the palace.”

Opportunities abound around you. May they no longer slip through your fingers unused! Anything you can get involved in that adds color to your life is an opportunity for growth. Anything that can put a radiant smile on your face and increase your productivity is an opportunity. Seize it! And if it doesn’t come knocking on your door, go in search of it.

Using opportunities

It’s one thing to find an opportunity, and another to make use of it. Remember the man by the pool of Bethesda in John 5:1-9. He had been lying there for 38 years, and even when an opportunity for healing presented itself through Jesus, he couldn’t seize it! Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” Instead of simply answering “Yes,” he began to recount his life story and how he couldn’t get into the pool.

You will have opportunities, but you must be committed to making use of them. This man was near the “pool of opportunities” but remained an unfortunate failure.

Opportunity is the mother of fortune. To be opportune is to be fortunate. Another wise man said: “Many of us have heard opportunity knock at our door. But by the time we undo the double lock, the deadbolt, the chain latch, and deactivate the burglar alarm in the basement, we finally open the door – but the opportunity has gone elsewhere.“

This is a good interpretation of Song of Solomon 5:2-8. When opportunity is lost, misfortune sets in. So, it’s not enough to have an opportunity; you must rise to take advantage of it, or you will miss it.

This text is an excerpt from the book “EXPLORING THE SECRETS OF SUCCESS” written by David O. Oyedepo.

We invite you to read the next article, MAKE YOUR HANDS WORK.