Vol. 6, No. 43 – October 24, 2021
Investing in Yourself
2 Timothy 2:15-16
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and mor ungodliness. –2 Timothy 2:15-16
You probably have not heard this, although some have alluded to this thought: God, on a regular basis, sends across our path divine opportunities for investment in ourselves. This is in keeping with His Word. We should be on the lookout for that. He does this primarily through His Word and through His Holy Spirit.
He also sends other “investment” opportunities across our path in the form of people needing Jesus among other investments.
Often, I take Donna out on a dating event. True, we do go out to eat often, but the fact is that we are always running into people that need counsel regarding their position in life. The date is a great investment of our marriage of 58 years, but the investment we make in restaurant staff and management has the opportunity of lasting in eternity.
It is not uncommon for me to ask our server: We are going to pray over our food; is there something I can include in the way of praying for you or a concern that you might have? That short comment has reaped powerful conversations and brought Donna and me to help another person.
I trust that in our lives, our many encounters have moved others to consider Christ.
Everything we say or do creates an investment somewhere. Whether that investment generates a dividend or loss depends upon us under God’s hand. God simply wants us to be His ambassador here on earth. What we plant will get watered, and the harvest will come.
One of the big mistakes we make is to think we work for someone else. Unless we name a particular person. We may have some who give us oversight, but we as believers work for our Almighty God. He is our source for investing our lives. We cannot look to others in that regard—it is Christ, and Christ alone.
The investment opportunities God brings us are life and death matters. Life is in relation to eternal living in heaven; death is in relation to eternal separation in hell. When we are sloppy with our obedience to God, we miss the mark. That is a phrase that speaks of an archer. When an archer misses the mark, he cannot stoop to find fault with the target. The archer knows exactly who is at fault.
Life Application
Look to what opportunities God offers. One time I had a remarkable settlement from my management assignment. At the time, our church pastor had been run out of the church by power-hungry families. Donna and I stopped by the pastor’s family house and brought food and an amount of needed funds. God created the opportunity, and we were faithful to honor His call.
Time spent in God’s Word makes one more sensitive and discerning.
What are you doing with God’s opportunities? You cannot fulfill your calling without investing.
