Opportunity Knocks

That night, David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the troops were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you. Let me thrust the spear through him into the ground just once. I won’t have to strike him twice!” 1 Samuel 26:7-8 HCSB

It was a cool fall night at a football game as a friend of mine and I walked behind the steel stands. He was smoking a cigarette that he had gotten from an older brother. As we walked along he asked me, “Could you hold my cigarette for a minute?” I took the cigarette. He then challenged me to give it a try. I refused so he then asked me, “Doesn’t that make you feel important and like an adult?” I responded, “No!” and gave him his cigarette back. I have never had a desire to smoke or even try it. That does not make me special; God has just blessed me with no desire for any type of tobacco.

Abishai tempted David to take advantage of the opportunity to kill Saul, even saying that it was obvious that God had delivered Saul into David’s hands – surely this was something God would want him to do. Sometimes our closest friends can cause us to sin. We need to be on our guard and remember to always follow God’s direction regardless of what friends say.

Beware of Satan’s temptations. He will often disguise the truth by telling you, “Everyone else is doing it” or “Surely God would want you to do this” or “Just a little bit will not hurt anything” or “If it feels good, it must be okay.” Don’t listen to Satan’s lies. The best moral decisions are made before temptation ever comes. Decide ahead of the temptation what you are going to do to follow God’s laws and principles.

Challenge: Every day you will encounter opportunities and decisions. Do not follow the crowd. Make your decisions based on what is right in God’s eyes rather than what seems right, what feels right, what is easiest, or what others are encouraging you to do. Ask God to give you wisdom as you seek to make wise decisions each day.

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