1st Samuel 8: 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
There are times in life when God opens the door of opportunity to nations or individuals, and what one does in the moment could make a great difference in the person’s or nation’s after history. When God is ready to work on behalf of nations or individuals we must rise to the occasion, because another chance might not be given, no one knows. Sometimes the golden opportunity slips by, and it’s only afterward, as persons reflect in hindsight, that they realize the door has been closed.
And in some instances, there might be genuine remorse for the chance that has passed by, but irreversible damage could have already been done. One of the dangers of sinning by procrastination is that even though you may catch yourself, and may endeavor to redeem the time the fact is that in most cases, during that interim period, between your procrastination, and redemption, real harm is done. When the dying thief on the cross saw, and seized his golden opportunity, he did nobly by rising to the occasion, and he would be saved in God’s kingdom.
But during the time when he lived on earth, damage was done to many persons, and he found no way to replace the stolen items to individuals. Similarly, when Saul, who later became Paul, rose to the occasion on the road to Damascus he seized the golden opportunity, and to a very great extent, he was able to redeem the time, and retrace his steps, but during the interim period, Stephen, and many other saints had already been put to death.
Acts 8:2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!