On February 27, 2012, 17-year-old T. J. Lane from Chardon,
Ohio, burst into his school's cafeteria and started shooting classmates. He
shot and killed three students. Had it
not been for the courage of Coach Frank Hall, many more students could have
died that day. Coach Hall doesn't
consider himself a hero. The 6'1",
350-pound football coach admits that he has plenty of fears. He hates confrontations. He's afraid of heights, roller coasters, and
scary movies; and he jumps through the ceiling when his kids sneak up on him. On one level, Coach Hall is more of a teddy
bear than a fighter. He loves kids. He says: "Every kid is someone's pride and joy or wants to be someone's pride and
joy …. I keep thinking, How would I want my kid to be treated?—and then I treat
them that way."
As a father of four adopted children, coach Hall also sees
himself as a protector of kids. So as
the shots rang out in the High School cafeteria, coach Hall knew what he had to
do. He said as a Christian, he felt the
hand of God through the ordeal, and responded with courage in the face of
danger.
As students cringed under desks, coach Hall charged at the
gunman, his voice booming, "Stop! Stop!" The 17-year-old shooter was thrown off-guard
by Hall's charge. He shot and
missed. And the coach continued to
charge at Lane, who turned and started running.
Police finally found Lane on a wooded road, shivering and wearing a
t-shirt with the word KILLER on it. When
they asked him why he'd run away, he said, "Because Coach Hall was chasing
me."
In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her
bus seat to a white man. In her book Quiet
Strength she writes: "When I sat down on the bus that day, I had
no idea history was being made—I was only thinking of getting home. But I had
made up my mind. After so many years of being a victim of the mistreatment my
people suffered, not giving up my seat—and whatever I had to face
afterwards—was not important. I did not feel any fear sitting there. I felt the
Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. It was time
for someone to stand up—or in my case, sit down. So I refused to move.”
These stories have one thing in common, they are about the
right people, in the right place, at the right time, who did something noble,
who took a stand, who acted with courage.
Each one had a God-given opportunity to make a difference and they
seized it.
What is an opportunity?
An English Proverb says: “Make hay
while the sun shines.” Samuel
Johnson wrote: “To improve the golden
moment of opportunity, and catch the good that is within our reach, is the
great art of life.” John Flavel
wrote: “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.”
Someone said opportunity is like an open window. But a window of opportunity won't open itself
- You must seize it. An opportunity is
made great or poor in direct ration to the quality of the character you bring
to it. An opportunity is seized or
missed, in relation to our being prepared to make the most of it. There is a call to duty and responsibility in
opportunities. If we bring our faith to
it, it can be used for the good of others and for the glory of God. God
gives us opportunities.
Can you look back and think of opportunities you missed,
that you let slip through your fingers?
An opportunity you had to speak, but you remained silent. Can you think of opportunities you seized and
made the most of? God will offer you
and me new opportunities in our lives.
Are you ready?
In our story from the Old Testament, Esther comes face to
face with an opportunity in the form of a pending crisis. The environment is extremely hostile. The Jews are living in exile in Persia , modern day Iran . Though Esther is the queen of Persia , she had
been forced to marry the king and her power was limited. The King's power is absolute. Esther, a Jew, was faced with an opportunity
fraught with peril, to save her people from annihilation by the Persians.
Haman, the king's second in command, had deceived the king
into issuing an edict to exterminate all Jews in the realm. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle and Esther, could
have tried to escape and save themselves.
But instead, they saw it in a radically different light, that God had
placed them in that position for His higher purpose. They saw it as an opportunity to be used by
God for a good and glorious deed. Hear
again Mordecai’s famous reply to Esther:
“Do not think that
because you are in the king’s house, you alone of all the Jews will
escape. For if you remain silent at this
time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but
you and your father’s family will perish.
And who knows, but that you have come to Royal position for just such a
time as this?”
Esther realizes that she has a chance to save her fellow
Jews in her privileged position as queen.
But even more, she begins to sense her divine destiny – here was a
chance to be used to deliver her people from annihilation for the glory of God. It's a decisive moment. And so, without being officially summoned
before the king, and knowing full well the law of death, for such impertenance,
Esther approaches the king and tells him of the deception behind the edict to
kill the Jews. A miracle occurs. The king listens and Esther and the Jews are
spared.
There are insights we can gain from Esther's story. Her eyes were open and she saw the
opportunity. She believed God would act
at the right time. She trusted God to
be with her. She prayed for the courage
to act. She commited herself to be used
as God's agent to save the Jews even at the risk of her own life. She seized the moment and took action, rather
than procrastinating. It was a moment
that could not be put off. She prayed
and fasted and thereby asked for and relied upon God’s help on her dangerous
mission. She didn’t over-analyze the
situation, realizing the urgency and need to act.
Are you faced with a difficult situation that requires
action? Maybe its a situation at work or
in the community. You may realize its
time to talk with a spouse or friend on a delicate subject, or talk to your
family about changes which you believe need to be made. You too may see a situation where you alone
have the opportunity to make a difference.
Rather than turning away from such challenges or putting them off, pray
to God for the courage to take action and trust in God to use you in that
situation. Be inspired by Esther’s
courage and example.
I close with the story of Sandra McBrayer, who is the Chief
Executive Officer of the Children's Initiative and an internationally known
advocate for children, youth and families. The Children's Initiative is a San Diego based child
advocacy agency dedicated to assisting children, youth and families to help
them thrive and prosper.
In 1987, Ms. McBrayer saw the plight of homeless children in
San Diego . She saw how they were not going to school and
receiving an education. She saw an opportunity and acted. She founded and developed the first
successful school in the United States
for homeless and unattended youth, serving as head teacher for Monarch High School
McBrayer had been teaching juvenile offenders in the court
school system, when she came up with the idea of a school specifically for
homeless children. She said: "I realized that part of our responsibility
is to take school to the students and not just wait for them to come to us."
You never know when God will call you to fulfill his will at
a particular time and place. You never
know when God will call you to act in a decisive moment, to change lives or to
save one life, to act righteously and courageously on behalf of family,
friends, even strangers or for a cause.
It can come at anytime, because you are the right person, in the right
place and at the right time.
As followers of Christ, God calls us be channels of his
will, agents of his kingdom, lights in the darkness. God brings sacred opportunities to serve Him
and His kingdom and he calls us to seize them.
For remember these words, “Who
knows, perhaps you are in this position for just such a time as this.” Amen!
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