Carriers of Divine Opportunities

Today is the day that God has made. Hebrews 4:7 tells us that God has set aside a specific day called “Today.” Today is an opportunity to step into God’s rest. Our lives—whether glamorous like Job’s or challenging like the man born blind—are simply opportunities for God to show His glory. Every moment of your life is another “Today” in God’s hand, leading you into His rest.

Rest is the place of encounter with Jesus, where He takes all your burdens and gives you His yoke, which is light. Your anxiety, pain, bitterness, blindness—whatever burdens you carry—God offers an exchange for them. In John 9, Jesus and His disciples meet a man born blind. The disciples assumed the blindness was a result of sin or disobedience, either by the man or someone connected to him. But Jesus clarified that it was neither. Rather, this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. Similarly, when Job lost everything and his body was covered with sores, his friends thought it was due to sin. However, as we see in Job chapters 1 and 2, whatever happened to Job had nothing to do with sin or disobedience.

Listen carefully: we are all carriers of divine opportunities for God to display His glory in our lives. The only thing missing is that encounter with Jesus. I believe Paul, in Hebrews 4, emphasizes what we need for that encounter: Do not harden your heart. This command means we must stop trying to see and do things our own way and embrace Jesus wholeheartedly. For that encounter to occur, our hearts must soften. What does it mean for the heart to soften? John 9 gives us a clue: Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with His saliva, and applied it to the blind man’s eyes. He then instructed the man to go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud. The Bible tells us that Siloam means “Sent.” The man obeyed and regained his sight. There was nothing medicinal about the spit, mud, or even the water at the pool. These were all ordinary things. In fact, they were things we would typically take for granted. But the difference here is in the One who sent the man to the pool: Jesus. The miracle happened because it was in response to Jesus.

We respond to Jesus as we read His Word. It’s not the act itself that’s important; it’s the fact that we pause, put every other thing on hold, and make the detour to the “pool” to obey. Sometimes, God puts mud on our faces so that we will embrace the detour He has been urging us to take. He gives us a need that compels us to act. Today, God is saying to you: that offer is always there. Today could be your day for an encounter, if you do not harden your heart. Remember Naaman, who was told to wash in the Jordan River. At first, he resisted and bristled at the idea, almost missing his encounter with God. But because he surrounded himself with godly people—those who valued the Word of the Lord—and they prevailed upon him to obey.

Today, God wants you to open your eyes and see that He has your best interests at heart. The children of Israel had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land 40 years earlier, but they hardened their hearts (Numbers 13,14). They turned their backs on God’s Word, refusing to go to the “pool” to wash off their burdens. Instead, they chose to cling to fear, anxiety, blindness, bitterness, and sin, continuing down a path that held them captive.

Don’t make the same mistake. Today is your “Today” to encounter God. Don’t harden your heart—turn to Him, and let Him display His glory in your life.

How can I soften my heart?

1. Receive His word and act on it
Monday: John 9:1-12
Tuesday: Matthew 13:1-23

2. Offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving instead of out of fear. Don’t be focused on the things that you fear, focus on the One who is deserving of all praise.
Wednesday: Job 1
Thursday: Psalm 95

3. Be willing to extend grace and to receive grace. Give grace to yourself as well. You are not a grasshopper, God sees you as a giant.
Friday: 2 King 5:1-15
Saturday: Numbers 13:25-33