Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Making the Most of Every Opportunity?

I want to tell you about two situations I found myself in recently that were similar in nature but had different outcomes.

Story #1

Not long ago I was driving to a conference a few hours from home and had nearly reached my destination when my vehicle suddenly broke down. So I did what most any non-mechanical person like me would do in this kind of situation - I called for help and found some shade nearby to shield me from the hot sun. And I did one more thing. I prayed and asked God to help me make the most of the situation by allowing me to be a witness for Him. Eventually the towing service arrived, picked up my vehicle and took it to a repair shop about twenty minutes up the road, toward the location of the conference I was still planning to attend. I rode in the tow truck.

For the first fifteen minutes of the ride, the driver and I exchanged greetings and mostly talked about his towing business. And all the while I was praying and asking God for an open window in the conversation to direct it into something spiritual with the hopes of eventually sharing the Gospel. The time finally came and time was running out quickly. So I took a deep breath and took a conversational risk. Here's what I said. "You know, earlier you asked me what I did for a living and I told you I work for a ministry organization. Do you have any spiritual interests at all at this point of your journey?" Whew! Another deep breath as I awaited his response.

"Here's my take," he said. "I believe and everything, but I don't much care for getting into arguments about religions and churches and stuff. But I do believe." I let him know I appreciated his open response and honesty. We were off to a great start, yet we were only a minute or two from the repair shop where we would drop off my vehicle.

Then he dropped a good question into my lap, "Why did you ask me that?" My response? "I just love to hear other people's stories and learn from their perspectives. And I personally hold to what the Bible says that were it not for Jesus, I could never earn God's approval. And without Him, I would never make it to heaven. The fact that He loved me so much that He died for me makes me want to live for Him wholeheartedly. I reached a point in my life where I had to decide who was going to call the shots in my life - either me or God. I have chosen God and I've never been the same since."

I knew God used something that was said to strike a chord with him. He listened very intently and seemed to take everything in like a dry sponge soaking up water. Then he said, "You know, it's sort of ironic that you asked me about this because I shouldn't even be here right now. I should be dead." He went on to explain how just the week before, a vehicle he was hooking up to made a sudden shift, just missing his head, which according to his speculations, would have been a definite and sudden death. "It really got me to thinking," he said, almost reliving the experience.

I finished my part of the conversation by adding, "What God wants from us, more than our efforts at being good people, is our hearts. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have truly given your heart to Jesus? I'm not talking about going to church, but making a life-commitment to Him? One thing that I have noticed in talking to a lot of people on this subject is that it seems to really help to have a definite beginning point in your relationship with God." Again, he listened attentively.

I showed him my wedding ring and told him that the ring is a constant reminder that on June 25, 1994, I made a life-commitment to my wife and it signified the beginning of our married life together. Then I challenged him with this: "If you aren't able to identify a definite beginning point in your relationship with Jesus, I encourage you to get that settled right away. And it sounds like He is giving you another chance. He shed His blood for you and He is waiting for you to give Him your heart and life." At that, we both expressed appreciation for the meaningful conversation, and our time was up. We both went our separate ways.

Story #2

Just yesterday I walked past an outdoor basketball court where a college athlete was shooting some hoops by himself. And while I thought to myself, "This may be an opportunity to talk with this guy one-on-one about his faith," I walked on by and proceeded with my agenda of loading my vehicle with luggage. Not long after this, I looked and the guy was getting in his vehicle to drive off. I have wrestled in my spirit ever since, wondering if that was a small window of opportunity that God was providing to speak to this guy about his faith, or if it was just a worthy idea of my own. Unfortunately I'll never know.

I'm not sure which story you can relate to best as I've tried to be honest with how I approached each opportunity to tell others about Jesus. But the Scripture is clear that we are to be busy "making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16 ). Let's bring it home with a few questions to consider. What opportunities have you recently taken advantage of to share Jesus with someone and have seen God "show up" on your behalf? And what opportunities have you passed up to try to make an eternal difference in someone else's life? And here's one for the road: are you ready to make the most of the opportunities God is getting ready to place before you...possibly even today?