Focus: Utilize Your Chances!

Text: Mk.10:47

"And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me."

Our text tells the story of a man. He has a name - Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, and he is blind. What we do not know is the cause of his blindness and how long it has lasted. But even if it is for one day or a million years, it is bad enough to be blind. Imagine being alive, yet having eyes that can't see!

A moment of destiny comes for him, and he knows it. The Scripture says, "And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging" (Mk.10:46). Bartimaeus' condition of blindness has reduced him to a beggar. On top of being a blind man, he is a pauper - a mendicant. 

Jesus Christ and His disciples are in his vicinity for a mission and now they are leaving. In that instant Bartimaeus sees and seizes an opportunity. He cries out to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy and help. People try to stop him, but he refuses to be stopped. He is not letting this opportunity to pass by him. He refuses to be cowed, intimidated, or silenced. He knows what he knows that nobody else knows, and he knows exactly what he wants - to see with his own eyes. So we read, "And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me" (Mk.10:48). He can't be stopped by anyone. He cries out and makes the loudest shout. The crowd sees him as a noise maker and as a disturber of the peace, but he does not care. He continues in his quest for a solution until Jesus Christ stops and demands for him to be called. As they say, the rest is history, for Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, walked away with his eyes seeing so brightly and clearly. He saw opportunity and took it.

A certain woman gets a similar opportunity. Matthew reports, "Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil" (Mt.15:21-22). Jesus Christ comes into her vicinity, and she sees an opportunity. She faces a lot of huddles, but she is determined to take her chances. I have always maintained that for success to be achieved, one needs to have good goals, great guts, and a glorious God. This woman has great guts and a feisty faith, and the Lord, in the end, grants her the desire of her heart, so that she walks home to a miracle.

I must tell you that it takes being sensitive to see opportunity and having the sense of urgency to seize it.

Be sensitive to notice an opening, an opportunity, or a golden moment! The writer of Hebrews says, "And truly, if they had been MINDFUL of that country from whence they came out, they might have had OPPORTUNITY to have returned" (Heb.11:15). In this Scripture we can see that mindfulness and opportunity are connected. Only a mindful person can see opportunity and take it right away. It is also important to note that opportunities often come disguised in unexpected ways and places, and we have to be discerning enough to catch sight of them, and at the same time cash in on them.

Learn to take your chances soon enough! Don't throw away an opportunity until you are sure that it's not yours! The writer of Hebrews says, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal.6:10). Utilize your chances! It is not a good thing to keep missing opportunities. One acronym of the word POOR is 'Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly.' Make a conscious effort to utilizing your chances at all times!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter