Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about how unpredictable life can get. During our campus days – close to 6 years now – we were so optimistic about the turn of events after school. It’s almost as if we had every inch of our lives planned out. We had a great expectation, but I guess we didn’t have quite the foundation to get it done. While that there is enough of a lesson, it’s not my reason for writing today. As we were talking, we began to break down facets of our lives that were not quite working out as we had hoped. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of the fact that time and chance happens to all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 – “I returned and saw under the sun that—The race is not given to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.”
Even though you may want for all the good things to stop happening to the wicked people and happen to you alone (and perhaps to the other righteous people you know), it is not how God operates. He ensures that every person gets a shot at getting it right in life. Time and chance is truly not set aside for a certain few.
It is good news to know that, although you are not where you want to be, time and chance will happen to you, too. Your time for shining will come. You cannot afford to miss it when it does. The only thing that will make your case different is your measure of preparation while in expectation. What you do before the light hits you determines your outcome when it does.
Think of God’s light as fame, although it is far greater than that. If you were to get a taste of fame right now, would you be able to sustain the weight of it? When your time and chance comes, will you be ready to showcase the best of who you are? The problem with focusing too much on what everyone else is accomplishing is that you have no time to cater to your business. It is how you easily miss your seasons. You are not prepared enough to take off when it’s your time to get on that ride. God has this thing where He likes to prepare His children in secret places before He announces them for purpose. He did it with David, just like with Jesus. The secret to being great when it’s time to show up for purpose lies in the work you do in the secret places – when only you know the weight of the anointing on your life.
If time and chance will bring you to the places you have desired to be, be in preparation as you wait. Make do to set your heart and mind right.
Build your character and establish a steady foundation that will not be shaken even after the brightness of light hits you. The truth they don’t share about light is that while it exposes you (uncovers and introduces you to the world), it exposes you too (reveals your nakedness and the hidden aspects of your character). Will you be ready when time and chance come your way?
If truly you will shine when your unveiling happens, I hope you are ready to take the stage relentlessly. You already have God’s favor all around you, a mind of Christ, and the Holy Spirit upon you – that in itself is all the advantage you need. It is the advantage that can make time and chance come around more than once. It’s the advantage that makes everything work together for good. Therefore, you have no excuse not to get it right when your time comes. In the meantime, build upon the rock that can never be shaken – one that the gates of hell cannot prevail!
