Hungry for an Opportunity

By Grant Gaines

There are two types of scorers in basketball: those who can create their own shot and those who need to be set up for their shot. Guys like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James are players that can create their own shot—they can dribble around a defender, easily maneuver through a double team, and evade a forest of bodies to find an open look at the basket.

On the flip side, guys like Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal, and Dirk Nowitzki need to be set up by a teammate in order for them to score. This definitely doesn’t mean that these guys are not good basketball players. In fact, all three of these men have won MVPs, championships, and are surefire Hall of Famers. The difference between this group and the players that can create their own shot is not in their scoring ability but in their ability to evade defenders—they’re not going to blow by anyone with their incredible speed nor are they going to make anyone grasp for air because of their incredible ball handling skill. But if a good point guard gets them the ball in their “spot”…game over, these guys can’t be stopped.

Now to use this analogy in a spiritual sense, I believe that many Christians are great at “scoring” when someone sets them up for the shot. What I mean by that is that we are great at ministering to others when they call us crying because they finally realize that they have been walking in a life of sin. We are excellent evangelist when people come up to us and ask why our life looks so much different than theirs. And we have no trouble inviting our unbelieving friends to church when it’s to a fun softball and BBQ outreach event.

Anyone could “score” in that situation. But those opportunities are few and far between, wouldn’t you agree? More often than not, we—like a good basketball player—need to “create our own shot” or opportunities to minister to others.

If this was your goal as a basketball player you would watch some film on some of the all-time greats and mimic their game. How about we do the same? Let’s take a look at Jesus’ “game film” from John 4 to see how He created these opportunities to minister.

As this chapter begins, we find Jesus at the beginning of a several day hike from Jerusalem in southern Israel to His former stomping grounds of Galilee in northern Israel. After a long journey, “Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give Me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food)” (John 4:6-8, NIV).

Jesus is about to minister to this woman, but I want to point out His conditions first. He wasn’t on a mission trip or equipped with a Gospel track. Instead He was simply on a long journey back home which caused Him to be awfully tired (John 4:6). Secondly, it was noon in a desert country which lies close to the equator…translation—it’s hot! Thirdly, Jesus asked the woman for water, so He is clearly thirsty. And finally, His disciples went to grab some food for Him which means that He hasn’t eaten in a while.

Those are the circumstances that Jesus found Himself in at the beginning of this story—tired, hot, thirsty, and hungry. But instead of focusing on His physical hunger, Jesus focused on His spiritual hunger to minister to this hurting woman.

I believe that is the secret to Jesus’ ministry right there—while we are so quick to focus on inconveniences, Jesus was quick to recognize opportunities.

If you were to replicate the setting of John 4 and put me in the story instead of Jesus, nine times out of ten, no ministry would occur because I would be busy complaining about how tired, how hot, how thirsty, and how hungry I was…rather than being aware of the opportunity that was right in front of me. Can anyone relate?

I believe that every single one of us is living in John 4-type moments every single day—while we’re at the store, while we’re picking up kids from school, and while we’re at work. We’re tired, hot, thirsty, and hungry but the opportunities to live out an incredible story are all around us if we would only open our eyes to see the harvest that is before us right now.

Jesus said this much in John 4:35-36 (NLT) when He said, “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.”

The harvest of salvation and ministry is all around us, are you seeing the opportunities or the inconveniences?

Comments? Questions? Suggestions?

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