Created for good works: Eph 2:10

I am presently in the Detroit airport on my way to Los Angeles for my grandmother's funeral. On our flight out of Norfolk there was quite the drama. As we taxied towards the runway one of the passengers began to have a severe panic attack. She approached the front of the craft and asked if she could get off. Once you board a plane, getting off is not that easy. You cannot just pull back to the terminal and disembark the plane. Since she had checked luggage, all the luggage on the plane would have to be unloaded, her bag found and removed, and the plane reloaded. This could have easily caused more than an hour delay in the flight! Fortunately, it did not come to that. One of the stewardesses, who had flown for 24 years, was also a Christian. The crew sat the lady in first class and the stewardess sat next to her and began to pray for her. Another woman across the isle, also a Christian, also began praying for her. Within a short time her panic subsided and we were on our way and arrived in Detroit on time. As I watched these events unfold, it reminded me of the following scripture.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

Sometimes I find myself distracted with trying to find and understand the "great thing" God is calling me to do. Should I become a missionary? Should I become a pastor? Should I start this ministry or that? It is easy to end up spending most of our time looking for, and trying to create, opportunities to do something great for God. Sometimes we can be so focused on the search that we miss the everyday opportunities God brings our way. We were created for good works, God has already planned them and set them before us. Our job is to learn to recognize them and to make the best of the opportunities that God brings our way. I am sure that the stewardess did not start out her day aware of the opportunity God would grant her to minister to one of her passengers. Her opportunity did not come because she sought it, but because she was willing and able when it came to her. She took the opportunity and made a difference in someone's life. Look around you, maybe the person needing your "good works" is sitting right next to you. Learn to spot the everyday opportunities that God has planned for you and continually ask God for the grace and strength to walk in them.

David Robison