OPPORTUNITIES VS. ASSIGNMENTS

Not all opportunities are your assignment. 

Let that sink in.  And read it again.

Not all opportunities are your assignment.

At any given time, there are decisions to be made about what to do next and many of the choices are good.  That’s when it gets tricky.  Between a good thing and a bad thing, decisions are easy.  It’s between the good and the great that next steps are less obvious.

I was recently at a job that I should have left a year earlier.  It was an opportunity to grow the kingdom as I worked with kids that I loved.  I got to see my friends every day.  It was reliable income that I could budget, a big deal when you’re an artist and a writer!  On paper, it all made sense. These were all good things. But not my great.  

When looking at opportunities, we tend to justify a door that’s open.  I have been created for women’s ministry, but I started working with kids because there was a need, a door wide open.  I called it my “stretch” ministry.  Even though it was good that I wanted to help kids know the love of Jesus, it wasn’t my assignment.  As I was struggling with my decision to leave, I felt God answering my prayer with, “I never asked you to do this.  Yes, I want you to help the children, but you were supposed to do it by being available to mothers.”  The door may have been open, but I wasn’t meant to walk through.

Because I took on work that wasn’t mine and stayed too long, the rest of my life went south pretty quickly:  I gained weight – a lot of weight.  I was too tired to move by the end of the day.  Because of the “extra” income, our insurance company charged us hundreds of dollars more.  We ended up losing thousands in expenses for just a few hundred dollars of income. Because I was working, I missed out on Bible studies and ministry.  I had no time to create art, make jewelry or write and I certainly didn’t have time to minister to women … all the things I was created to do.  All because I picked the good. And not the great.

It is a cautionary tale to chase God’s will in opportunities.  We come to know God Himself when we ask for our assignment. 

It can be a scary thing not to work in a traditional way, but God is teaching me that His provision comes in many forms. When I closed the door to work with children, it blew open the doors that allowed me to get back in ministry, even leadership.  I was offered jobs to write for a Christian magazine and contribute blog content for a sales podcaster, perfect for an entrepreneur.  I finally created my own website and I’m almost done writing my first book. Ideas are flowing and my body is starting to shrink because there is margin to move and think again.  I miss the kids and my friends, but I know I will serve them better now that I’m in the flow of assignment, and not opportunity.

Now let’s read that first sentence again:  Not all opportunities are your assignment. 

Did you hear one door closing?  Maybe it’s time to find the door God has been waiting to open, just for you. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews 10:36