When we decide to give our lives to Jesus, to surrender fully to Him, we begin to see ourselves with a new perspective, and everything about us begins to change! Over time, even our hopes and dreams that used to be mainly rooted in ourselves get reborn for Kingdom purpose. Holy ambition lights a fire under us, and we actually want to serve. However, as we seek opportunity to be used by God, it can be easy to get confused as to whether or not our motivations are pure and whether or not our confidence has become pride. Here are a few heart checks on the road to opportunity that have helped me along the way:

1. The Road to Opportunity is walked One Step At A Time

Have you heard people say, “The journey is the destination”? Sort of like Google Maps, God usually leads us one step at a time. We can sometimes trivialize that next step God puts in front of us as being a “little thing” because we read Jesus’ words, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much…” in Luke 16:10 more like “If I put up with this responsibility for long for enough, God will eventually give me what I really want.” This attitude couldn’t be farther from Jesus’ heart. Instead, be excellent with what is in front of you, and don’t try to manipulate God’s plan towards some self-serving end. Simply walk with Him one step at a time. Our impartial faithfulness will be the primary fuel to propel us towards God’s will for our lives.

 2. The Road to Opportunity is paved by the Holy Spirit

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NASB). As the worship team at my church prays before going on platform at each service, it’s almost a given that someone will pray, “Lord, do a greater thing with our small offering.” The outcome of our efforts done in our own strength will always fall short of our expectations. On the other hand, God would do more with our efforts than we could ever imagine if we would just surrender our expectations to Him from the start. It is the Holy Spirit who creates opportunities that will truly fulfill us and have the greatest impact on this world for the Kingdom.

3. The Road To Opportunity Might Lead Somewhere You Didn’t Expect… And That’s Ok

When I was younger, my parents gave me a choice between two activities that my 10 year old self desperately wanted to pursue – I could either get a drum set or I could take Karate lessons. So, I made my choice, and as I learned to play the theme for “George of the Jungle” on the toms of my shiny new drum set, I told everyone that I would never ever EVER play music in front of people. Long story short, 18 years later I now frequently lead worship for 5-6 services in a weekend… and I love it! When I got out of the way, I realized that God knew exactly what He was doing with my life the whole time. Who knew? It’s an amazing thing when the opportunities we were created for begin to align with opportunities we hope for, and this can only happen through consistent complete surrender of ourselves.

In the end, God knows the desire of our hearts because He put them there. He created the opportunities for us that we wanted most before we even knew we wanted them, and He is longing for us to lay down our agendas before He gives them to us. The longer we aim that inner fire and ambition to simply follow Him one step at a time, to submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading, to be our best and do our best with whatever He puts in front of us, the more we will be truly satisfied. We will know that the opportunity came from Him, and it will be so much better than anything we could manipulate into existence on our own.

Timmy Millsaps

Hillsong College Alumni