Come Fill Your Cup

Equipping Women For Study and Service

  • Our Team
  • Fall Retreat
  • Bookstore
  • Printables

Just One Opportunity

February 20, 2017 by Guest Author 1 Comment

Did you see that beautiful sunset last week? And the stunning view of the snow that fell across your front yard a month ago? What about those five deer grazing in the field that you passed on Monday? No, I didn’t. I was too busy posting selfies with a Starbucks Frappuccino in my hand. I got 50 likes on that, by the way.  We tend to be caught up in the latest technologies and don’t set it aside long enough to see God’s glory. But we also miss something bigger than the five deer in the field. We miss the one soul standing on the street corner, holding a sign, begging for food. We miss the one soul at our school suffering from depression. We miss the one soul that comes to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. Mark 16:15 commands us to teach to word to the world, but we miss those opportunities because we’re too busy retweeting about Jennifer Lawrence. And our phones are not the only barriers hindering us from taking just one opportunity; our excuses are just another layer to the wall. There are three things that we need to do to be able to break those walls down.

1. We need to realize the impact that one person can have with just one opportunity.  In Acts 16 when Paul and Silas were in prison there was an earthquake that shook the doors loose and the chains off of the prisoners. The guard, having failed in his duty to keep watch of the prisoners, was about to kill himself right when Paul took that one opportunity to save that one soul. But it wasn’t just the guard that was saved. Verse 33 says, “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.” Because Paul took that one opportunity, a whole family was saved. But it can go further than just one family being saved. In John chapter one we see that John the Baptist took the one opportunity to teach a man named Andrew. Well, Andrew then goes to teach his brother, Simon Peter. And Because Simon Peter believed, he became a follower of Jesus, eventually leading to his sermon in Acts chapter two. In verse 41 it says, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Because John took that one opportunity to teach Andrew, it lead to three thousand souls being saved. Imagine the impact you, just one person, could have with just one opportunity.

2. The next thing we need to do is to go into action, turning off our iPads and taking one opportunity. I promise that those Instagram pictures will still be there when you get back. In Acts 9, we read about the conversion of Paul and in verse 20 it says, “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Meer days after he was baptized he was already going into action to spread the word of God. However, Paul hadn’t faced persecution at that point in time. Later on in his life we read that he is beaten, thrown into prison, and even stoned, yet he still spread the word of God every opportunity that he had before him. He did all of this without excuses, but we won’t even say “hello” to the person in the elevator because we have a screen shoved in our face. Which leads me to my third and final point.

3. We need to fear the results of one person missing multiple opportunities. Remember earlier when I talked about Paul converting the jailor and his whole family? And because John taught Andrew, it led to 3,000 souls being saved? What if we could talk to that one person, which could lead to many being saved? Most people would think, ‘Oh, someone else will come and teach them.’ What if nobody does? Let’s say you’re standing next to a girl on your basketball team after a win, it’s a perfect opportunity to teach her about Jesus! But instead you pick up your phone to post an “after-game selfie.” Imagine, standing in the final judgment next to that same girl and her asking, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Is it because you’d rather check your phone than talk about our one Lord and Savior? 

We walk through this life with heads tilted down, scrolling through Facebook aimlessly. Each person you walk past is another missed opportunity, another soul not saved. Why miss just one opportunity because of excuses? Because it’s too awkward, because of their tattoos, or their social status? And why take away that one opportunity because you can’t look up from your phone? Einstein once said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.” Because technology has taken away human interaction, it takes away opportunities to do the Great Commission. Acts 17:6 says, “But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.’” These men are referring to Paul and Silas as being men who have turned the world upside down by spreading the gospel. So why don’t you, as one person, put down the technology and the excuses and turn this world upside down one opportunity at a time? 

By Rebekah Youngblood

Rebekah is from Tuscaloosa Alabama, she is currently studying to become a nurse at Freed-Hardeman University, and she really really likes Taco Bell.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print

Filed Under: Beyond the Foam Tagged With: Beyond the Foam, great comission, Rebekah Youngblood

About Guest Author

« Psalm Reading Plan – Week 7
Mary Rose and Me “Sweethearts” »

Comments

  1. Judy Peterson says

    February 21, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    Great article! Rebecca, thank you for reminding us of something we need to be doing everyday. I’m just as guilty as anyone! I really liked what Einstein said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.” Seems like we have already reached that point, when people meet for dinner they never talk anymore; when people walk down the street they are zoned in to only one thing and it’s not their surroundings; most families don’t talk anymore, the kids are playing video games, mom may have a new book on her Kindle, or she is busy paying electronic bills and dad brought work again. Another words we are all tied one way or another to our “technology”. We really need to force ourselves if necessary to turn off the “technology” and as Rebecca put it, “turn the world upside down”

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for Something?

CFYC About Image Welcome! We are so glad you stopped by. Come Fill Your Cup is a group of Christian ladies dedicated to equipping women for study and service. Our goal is to reach you in the midst of your busy day and give you encouragement, education, and fellowship as you strive to live the life God has laid before you.

Featured Posts

Bible Marking: In Remembrance of Me

New To Bible Marking? Start here: Bible Marking: Crash Course (Part 1) Bible Marking: Crash Course

From the Heart of an Older Woman: Children in Worship Services

Ahh, Sundays with small children! Squishing chubby baby legs into tights. Hoping your toddlers don’t

Follow Your Heart… or Not?

You see it everywhere. The message is drummed into our heads from toddler-hood on. It's in books,

Join us on Instagram

Follow on Instagram
  • Read Our Blog
  • Submit an article
  • Contact Us
  • Features
  • What We Offer
  • About Us
  • Bookstore

Welcome to Come Fill Your Cup!

CFYC About Image Welcome! We are so glad you stopped by. Come Fill Your Cup is a group of Christian ladies dedicated to equipping women for study and service. We know you are busy and that life’s hectic pace pulls you in so many directions, but you can’t truly be the woman God desires unless you take time to fill your own cup…not with spa days (though we love a good spa!) or the latest novel…but with God’s Holy Word. We want to help you with that! Our goal is to reach you in the midst of your busy day and give you encouragement, education, and fellowship as you strive to live the life God has laid before you. Our prayer is that we can help fill your cup so that you, in turn, can overflow to all those around you. So, as we like to say…come fill your cup, and let it overflow!

Copyright © 2025 · Blossom theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2025 · Blossom Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in