The Opportune Time
Luke 4:13 – "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him
until an opportune time." (NIV)
I remember a saying by a comedian that goes like this: "Boy… I was so
mad I could have started a fight in an empty room!" I’m sure that many
of us have been that way at least once in our life times. However, the question
I’m going to ask you today is, "have you ever wanted to start a fight with
someone even before you confronted him/her?" Let me bring some clarity
to this question.
Let’s say you were on your way to a meeting, church, school or wherever you
were on your way to. Now, before you got there, you knew that Jane, John, Jim,
or whomever you did not really care for was going to be there. Knowing this,
while in route to your destination, your hostility grew and grew and grew. By
the time you got there, all that was on your mind was telling him/her off or
putting him/her in her place. Has this ever happened to you? If so, then my
next question is how did it turn out? Most times it probably did not turn out
so well. Why? Because this was seen by the enemy as "the opportune time."
In our text, Jesus had just been tempted by the devil, and He successfully
passed the test. Yet, this scripture ends in a revelatory manner. It tells us
that the enemy "left him until an opportune time." In other words,
the enemy is not omnipresent or in all places at all times. Because of this,
he’s like the telemarketer seeking out the person who is going to easily surrender
his/her money for his crappy products.
What we want you to understand is that the enemy has to be given the opportunity
to operate in your life. This is not only limited to hostility and revenge but
also extends to doubt as well. If God has promised you life and life more abundant,
but you doubt the promise, then guess what? — An opportune time has arisen.
John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly."
God has promised us health, healing, prosperity, joy, and wholeness. Yet, some
of our brothers and sisters believe that we can only get these promises in that
"great getting up morning." Well, beloved of God, I say that that
great getting up morning was when your feet hit the floor THIS MORNING! Today
is the day that the Lord has made and we proclaim that we will see His goodness
in the land of the living. Today is the day we proclaim that the manifestations
of God will begin to come into and continue in our lives. We no longer give
opportunity to the devil to sell us his products like hostility, revenge, doubt,
sickness, disease, loneliness, lack, poverty, and depression. Instead, we rebuke
the opportune time of the enemy and lay hold to the promises of God in Christ
—
2 Corinthians 1:20 – "For no matter how many promises God has made, they
are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken
by us to the glory of God."
And proclaim the benefits of the Lord over our lives.
Psalms 103
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all
his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy
life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so
that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.