Windows of Opportunity
From the Series—Courage
September 13, 2002On August 15, 1987, Howard Schultz purchased a small chain of coffeehouses called Starbucks for $4 million. At the time, Schultz described it as “a case of the salmon swallowing the whale.” It seemed like an overwhelming undertaking, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Listen to what he writes in his autobiography, Pour Your Heart Into It.
“This is my moment, I thought. If I don’t seize the opportunity, if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and risk it all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass. I knew that if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I would replay it in my mind for my whole life, wondering: What if?”
On June 26, 1992--less than five years after Howard Schultz seized the opportunity--Starbucks’ stock went public. It was the second most active stock traded on the NASDAQ and by the closing bell, its market capitalization stood at $273 million. Not bad for a $4 million investment.
Jeremiah 46:17 is one of the saddest epitaphs in Scripture. It says, “Give Pharaoh of Egypt the title King of Bombast, the man who missed his moment.”
Let that sink in--"the man who missed his moment.”
Life is an endless series of God-given opportunities--opportunities to love, opportunities to learn, opportunities to serve, opportunities to share, opportunities to give. Either we’re going to have the courage to seize those God-given opportunities or we’ll end up like the King of Bombast-"the man who missed his moment.”
The Right Place @ The Right Time
In the 5th century BC, King Xerxes ordered the genocide of the Jews. Esther 2:13 says, “Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews--young and old, women and little children--on a single day, the thirteen day of the twelfth month.” But through an amazing set of circumstances, God uses a beauty pageant to strategically position a Jewish orphan girl named Esther as the Queen of Persia. Here’s the key fact. No one knows that Esther is Jewish.
That’s where we pick up the story in Esther 4:12. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, sends a message to Esther. He says, “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ‘Go gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
This is Esther’s moment and Mordecai knows it. He says, “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.” God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. God is always opening windows of opportunity. But here’s the question: do we have the courage to seize those opportunities?
Counterintuitive Courage
Courage is counterintuitive. Look at what Mordecai says to Esther. “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.”
I’ve got to be honest. I’m thinking the exact opposite. If Esther remains silent, I’m thinking the Jews will perish, but Esther’s got a shot at saving herself because no one knows she’s Jewish. But Mordecai says the exact opposite.
In Luke 9:24, Jesus said, “Whoever saves his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” It’s counterintuitive, but so is most of what Jesus teaches! “The First shall be last.” “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” “The greatest among you is the servant of all.” “Love your enemies.” “Pray for those who persecute you.” “Turn the other cheek.”
Jesus was counterintuitive! And that’s what drove the religious leaders crazy! He didn’t fit into their religious box! He was unpredictable and unconventional. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, he walked to the beat of a different drummer.
To be like Jesus is to be counterintuitive. And that takes courage! We don’t seek the highest position, we seek to serve. We don’t seek revenge, we turn the other cheek. We don’t seek to exalt ourselves, we humble ourselves. We don’t seek to save our lives, we give them up.
On September 11th, 2001, a twenty-four year-old equities trader helped strangers down the stairs in the World Trade Center. He even carried one woman on his back. He was last seen going up the stairs while others came down just before the tower collasped. That is counterintuitive courage!
It’s counterintuitive, but we’ve got to realize that the greatest risk is taking no risks. Playing it safe is risky! That’s what Mordecai says to Esther. “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.”
As I look back on my life, the turning points are when I had the courage to be counterintuitive. Towards the end of my freshman year at the University of Chicago, I had a “eureka” moment. I was thinking about majors and careers and I realized I’d never really asked God what he wanted me to do with my life. I spent the entire summer seeking direction.
In August of 1989, our family was on vacation in Alexandria, Minnesota. I got up early one morning to take a prayer walk. I walked down some dirt roads and took a shortcut through a cow pasture. In the middle of that cow pasture I heard what I describe as the “inaudible but unmistakable” voice of God. I knew God was calling me into full-time ministry. To make a long story short, I transferred from the University of Chicago to Central Bible College.
On paper, that made no sense. I had a full-ride scholarship at the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago was the third-ranked university in the country at the time behind Harvard and Yale. Transferring schools was counterintuitive. In fact, lots of people said I shouldn’t do it. But I knew that to “play it safe” would be risky!
If I had stayed at the U of C, I would have looked good “on paper”, but who you are “on paper” doesn’t really mean anything. While at CBC, I cut my teeth preaching in a church with 7 pews and 25 people. It was that “hands on” experience that put me in a position to begin pastoring National Community Church in my mid-twenties. If I had stayed at the University of Chicago, I would have probably still been in Seminary.
Calculated Courage
Here’s what I love about Esther. She is calm and collected. She has “calculated courage.” This is not a mindless or careless decision. It’s measured. It’s calculated. She says, “Go gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do.”
When someone comes to me for advice regarding a big decision, I give the same prescription nine times out ten: spend some time fasting and praying about it. If you fast and pray about something for three days, like Esther, you’re going to get a sense of direction.
There is a form of courage that is uncalculated. Scripture calls it presumption. Numbers 14:44 says, “In their presumption, they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in the hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.”
The God-given window of opportunity had closed. The Israelites refused to fight for the Promised Land when God told them to take possession of it. Then when the window of opportunity closed, they attacked in their presumption.
Courage ought to be calculated. Jesus said in Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation, and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him saying, ‘This fellow began to build but was unable to finish it’.”
Let’s Roll
Esther says, “When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
According to Persian law, no one could approach the King unless they were summoned--not even his wife. The penalty was death. The only out was if the King raised his scepter and spared your life, but if you read the first chapter of Esther you’ll find that Xerxes’ had already gotten rid of one wife who didn’t come when he called her. What’s going to keep him from getting rid of a wife that comes when he doesn’t call her?
The consensus among historians is that Xerxes was impulsive and unpredictable. During his reign, Xerxes commissioned the building of a bridge, but during construction it was destroyed by a storm. Xerxes ordered that the body of water receive 300 lashes and he had the bridge builders beheaded. Now who’s going to build your bridge?
That adds weight to Esther’s words, “If I perish, I perish.” She puts her life on the line!
This week we mourn the loss of those who died on September 11th, but we also celebrate some of the most amazing displays of courage this country has ever seen.
Thomas Burnett, one of the passengers aboard United Flight #93 called his wife Deena and said, “We’re going to die, but we’re going to do something.” After considering all the options, another passenger named Todd Beamer said, “Let’s roll.” It was calculated courage. They knew that three other planes had been hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon and the Twin Towers. So the passengers aboard that flight took that plane down in southwestern Pennsylvania instead of Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Testing Point
Let me close this series the way I began it. C.S. Lewis said, “Courage is not just one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Lewis says, “Pilate was merciful till it became risky.” Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. He was even warned by his wife not to touch Jesus. But when the crowd started chanting, “Crucify Him,” Pilate lacked the courage to what was right. In a symbolic gesture he “washed his hands.”
A few months ago I had a dream. It made such an impression on me that I actually recorded it in my journal. Here’s what I wrote:
“I woke up in the middle of the night with an “impression” from the Lord. I don’t know how else to categorize it. He said don’t wash your hands like Pilate, but wash feet like Jesus. Don’t say, “It’s not my responsibility,” and wash your hands. But wash feet like Jesus. It wasn’t Jesus’ responsibility, but he washed the disciple’s feet anyway.
Are we going to “wash our hands” or “wash feet”? Washing feet takes courage! Esther could have washed her hands and looked out for #1, but courage doesn’t look for the easy way out. It doesn’t look for cop outs. In the ultimate gesture of courage, she said, “If I perish, I perish.”