When I look back over my life, I can see where I\u2019ve missed out on some God-given opportunities. Maybe you are saying the same thing. If so, I want to encourage you: Don\u2019t live in regret. Don\u2019t let lost opportunities make you feel disappointed and discouraged. God is bigger than your lost opportunities. He can still get you where you need to go in life.<\/p>\n
Have you ever used one of those GPS directional systems in your car? You set the location where you want to go, and the GPS calculates the best route. You can be driving along and get distracted and completely miss the street where the GPS instructed you to turn, but that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll never reach your destination. That GPS system will instantly recalculate the route, based on your present location. God works in a similar way. He is constantly giving us direction, speaking to our hearts, leading us by granting peace or unrest in our spirit, but even when we miss His instructions\u2014and we all do from time to time\u2014He will recalculate our route and get us back where we need to be.<\/p>\n
I love what the Apostle Paul said: \u201cThis one thing I do; forgetting those things which are behind, I reach forth to the things which are before me.\u201d He was saying that we must turn our thoughts toward the present and future and keep looking for the new opportunities in our paths. Be prepared, because God is ready to fulfill the dreams and desires He\u2019s placed within your heart. He loves to restore opportunities that once seemed lost forever. And sometimes He brings those opportunities back in ways we haven\u2019t considered or weren\u2019t looking for. It may not always be the way we thought; but if you\u2019ll stay open, God will bless you beyond your wildest dreams.<\/p>\n
One Christmas several years ago, I was longing to do something special for God. I began thinking of all the women in shelters and homes around the city and I felt a strong desire to make some Christmas baskets, filling them full of perfume and toiletries, and taking them to a women\u2019s shelter. I was excited about my idea and I searched through the yellow pages to find a nearby shelter. When I dialed the number, a woman answered, and I immediately began sharing my heart, telling her what I wanted to do, and how I hoped to make the women at the shelter feel special. But rather than getting excited with me and giving me the information I needed, she began to grill me with questions. She said, \u201cThis is a private facility and the women need to remain anonymous.\u201d Then she asked, \u201cHave you been abused? Do you know somebody who has been abused? Do you need help, are you looking for help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cI just want to brighten the day for some women.\u201d She went on and on as though she hadn\u2019t even heard me, apparently thinking that I was trying to disguise some abuse that I had suffered. Finally I ended the conversation and hung up the phone in frustration. I thought to myself, I\u2019ll call back tomorrow and speak to someone else. But as life would have it, I became busy with family holiday projects, and before I knew it, the holidays were whizzing by and I had missed the opportunity.<\/p>\n
A few days after the holidays had ended, I was praying when I thought about the Christmas baskets and the opportunity I had allowed to slip away. I told God that I felt I had lost my determination and had let those women down somehow. I asked Him to present another opportunity to me and I promised that this time I would see it through.<\/p>\n
Several months went by, and then one day I received a telephone call from The Bridge, a women\u2019s shelter in Houston similar to the one I had contacted. A woman named Jackie was on the other end of the phone line. \u201cHi, Victoria, I\u2019m the director of The Bridge,\u201d she told me, \u201cand I attend Lakewood Church. I want to invite you to speak at my Women of Distinction Awards program. It\u2019s a benefit for the women\u2019s shelter.\u201d She told me about the event and who would be there\u2014city leaders, business leaders, and others. Clearly she was so happy and proud of this event. As she was speaking, I thought about those Christmas baskets I had wanted to make for the women\u2019s shelter several months earlier, as well as the prayer. I was honored by her request, and I immediately said yes. When I hung up the phone, I thought, Oh, God, those Christmas baskets would have been so much easier! Couldn\u2019t I have just started there?<\/em> At the time I didn\u2019t have experience speaking in front of large audiences. I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it! But, even though I was nervous about the speaking engagement, I felt this was the opportunity I had prayed for.<\/p>\n I worked so hard to prepare my presentation and rehearsed what I would say, practicing over and over in my mind. After the event, I felt I had done the best I could and I was happy about what I had accomplished and what I had experienced that day. Following my speech, I was elated when several of the attendees congratulated me, telling me how inspiring my talk had been to them. Later I was told that a professional athlete and his wife were so moved by my presentation that they made a large donation to the shelter. I was so encouraged.<\/p>\n It took faith and work, but it was marvelous to see how God brought back an opportunity I had missed.<\/p>\n I know God can do something similar for you. Everyone has missed opportunities to do something good, to help somebody, or even to go to the next level in our career. For one reason or another, we\u2019ve allowed that opportunity to slip through our fingers. But let bygones be bygones; don\u2019t get trapped in the past. Don\u2019t allow yourself to focus on the things you\u2019ve missed or could have done better. Allow Him to bring back any opportunities that you may have missed.<\/p>\n