The church had just gotten underway, the gospel was flourishing, persecution was threatening, and the believers were moving very quickly. They were on mission to preach the gospel. One morning Philip woke up and God interrupted his plans. He sent an angel to tell him to “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26). Philip obeyed and he met an Ethiopian Eunuch who had just come from Jerusalem and was reading the Word of God but couldn’t make sense of it. Philip led him to the Lord and then baptized him. I wonder if later that night, Philip said to himself, “I’m so glad I didn’t miss that opportunity.”
Have you been there? Kicking yourself because you missed an opportunity to speak truth into someone, encourage someone, or point them in a new direction? I have. I drove a school bus for several years. One morning, before my run, I was standing with other bus drivers, and one man was talking about how his life was empty and that he didn’t have much of a purpose. The Lord had given me that opportunity, but I missed it. I just pray that someone else was sent to speak into his life.
I know we miss opportunities… maybe because of our fear of rejection, insecurities, or simply because we fail to see it. Our busyness is often the culprit for sure. When I leave my house, I have my agenda before me. I get so focused on my agenda that I can easily miss what God wants to do in someone’s life. But our verse today tells us one specific way we can become more alert to the Lord’s promptings… to commit our actions to the Lord.
Maybe we should commit our bodies to the Lord before we leave the house. I know I have weaknesses that are strengths in others. So, maybe we should commit our eyes, our ears, our hands, our weaknesses, our steps, our worries to the Lord before the busyness of the day begins. I believe that when we do this, His purposes will prevail over our plans. And then we become greater ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. Someone is hurting today, someone needs a word of encouragement, someone needs to know that you care, someone needs to have you pray with them. Let’s not miss those golden opportunities. Let’s commit everything to the Lord and then be obedient when the Holy Spirit prompts us.