Windows of Opportunity

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me …to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, NIV)

In God’s scheme of things, He operates in dispensations of time, or ages, in order to fulfill His purposes. God speaks a word, and then patiently allows that word time to take root and bear fruit. Eventually, He moves on into another dispensation or age and speaks another word, etc.

All of these dispensations will culminate in one grand purpose called the “end of the ages.” (see Ephesians 1:10) It seems that on the other side of that is another age that we now refer to as eternity, and that there was another age, or perhaps ages, that transpired before the current age. There is evidence, biblical and paleontological, to suggest that another civilization or civilizations existed on this planet, possibly before Adam and Eve. However, the Bible says little about the previous ages and the one(s) to come.

Our current dispensation, the age of the Gentiles, is an extension of a time that Jesus Himself christened as “the year of the Lord’s favor” in which the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached first to the Jews. During this time, God is primarily working His purpose in allowing the nations to hear and respond to the Gospel. This indefinite period culminates in the Church coming to preeminence (Ephesians 4:13) and then being “caught away,” resulting in a time of judgment on all “who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:12).

In the lives of individuals, God operates in much the same way as nations.

“For He says: ‘IN AN ACCEPTABLE TIME I HAVE HEARD YOU, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION I HAVE HELPED YOU.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”(2 Corinthians 6:1-2).


The “day” here does not necessarily mean a literal 24 hours, but a season for a person to respond to the urging of his own conscience in response to truth. In my own life, there was a period in which I sensed the urging of the Holy Spirit to make a decision to follow Christ beginning when I first heard and understood the Gospel. This became stronger and stronger until God in His mercy set me up with a clear opportunity to make a choice for or against Him. If I had hardened my heart I don’t know that I would have ever had such chance again. The opportunity may have been lost.

Don’t think that your opportunity has passed. The fact that you are reading this demonstrates the mercy of God giving you an opportunity to respond to the urging of the Holy Spirit on your own conscience. With your heart believe the Gospel and with your mouth confess that you are a child of God. Then thank God for His amazing love and ask Him to fill you with His very own Holy Spirit, Who will guide you in all His paths..

The life of looking for God’s opportunities is an exciting adventure in being led by the "inward witness." Learning to know His voice, to see His hand, and to respond in maintaining a life in harmony with Him should be your goal. If you mess up, admit it to God and look for the next open door or window of opportunity. God is full of mercy!