This past January, almost a year ago now, Pastor Jim Olson gave his annual theme message, declaring that 2009 would be a Year of Opportunity for Bethel Christian Fellowship. Every year I attempt to guess what the theme will be, and every year I get it wrong. Pastor Jim always surprises me. "A Year of Opportunity" was no less surprising, but it really fit.

Opportunity is a very interesting word. In his theme message, Pastor Jim told the congregation that it literally comes from the word port, which evokes that maritime moment when the tide has come all the way into the port and the boat must launch at just that moment. If it does not, all will be lost. This year's beautiful banner reminds us of this picture. The word opportunity is strangely full of risk and danger, hope and promise. If the moment is properly seized, the reward is great. If it is missed, it is a cause of great despair.

The problem with opportunities is that they are often hidden. Sometimes it is harder for us to detect them than it is for sailors to detect that perfect tide for the launch. Pastor Jim alluded to this in his theme message when he recounted the story of Lazarus in John 11. Do you remember the deep grief that Lazarus's family felt when he died? Who wouldn't react that way?

Worse still, Jesus's friends were wondering where He was when Lazarus got sick? Couldn't He have stopped it? He had been healing all kinds of people for three-and-a-half years. Why didn’t He prevent Lazarus's death? And then, against all the advice given by any good grief counselor, Jesus said to Lazarus's sister: "If you believe, you will see the glory of God" (John 11:40). How insensitive! How rude! But Jesus had something far bigger in mind than just the preservation of Lazarus's life. He had resurrection in mind!

God has something greater in mind for us too—greater promises and plans and purposes that are far better than the meager, little dreams to which we cling and insist upon for our happiness and comfort. His plans are far better than anything we could imagine. But so often, His promises, plans, and purposes are hidden from us, just as the tragedy of Lazarus's death blocked everyone's sight from the glorious vision of resurrection.

As Jesus told Martha, the opportunities to see God fulfill His superior plans are not blocked for those who see with the eyes of faith. God is always creating opportunities to glorify His name, advance His Kingdom, and fulfill His own desires. However, the opportunities are hidden from us when we look at events without the eyes of faith. The challenge in this Year of Opportunity has been to wait patiently and expectantly for the opportunities that are hidden in darkness and mist at first glance, but suddenly swell up in front of us, sometimes totally by surprise, as though out of nowhere.

The real trick to it is to do what Pastor Jim always tells us: "Look for God's yes behind His no." Waiting behind every appearance of God's disapproval and rejection in our lives is actually God's amazing favor, which He wants to demonstrate in ways that far surpass our limited imaginations.

Looking for God's yes—for the opportunity—involves doing the four things Pastor Jim identified that cold day in January. Quoting from Ephesians 5:14-20, he reminded us of Paul's exhortation to "[redeem] the time" or to "[make] the most of every opportunity." He pointed to God’s commands for us to be awake, wise, filled with the Spirit, and thankful so we can seize opportunities. All of this involves faith, really believing that God’s goodness is in control behind all the darkness and that He always has our best interest in mind.

There have been so many opportunities to see God at work this past year. Have you seen them? Have you been looking? Have you been spiritually awake, wise, filled with God’s own Spirit, and thankful? I challenge each of us to look back on this year and reexamine its events, both tragic and hopeful, both delightful and alarming, both promising and dangerous. Do we see only the downside? Or are we looking at life's events with eyes of faith?

And are we preparing ourselves to look at future events with eyes of faith? You know, we don’t control when the next “tide” in our lives will come in and we have the next opportunity to “launch.” But we can prepare ourselves for its coming by cultivating the eyes of faith.

--Andrew Gross