Ordinarily, the factors identified in this verse are what should drive success and breakthrough in life. For the record, the following things are mentioned: speed, strength, wisdom, skill, and education. One would think that those who possess these are home and dry. However, the wise man says they don’t always determine the outcomes in life. Something that trumps all these factors is being in the right place at the right time! Another way to put it is ability to perceive opportunity and seize it. In the final analysis, opportunity differentiates one person from another or one group from another.

When next you are confronted with a challenge you may wish to consider it as an opportunity which God has brought your way to shoot you up.

Some who appreciate the place of opportunity in life have turned to prayer, asking God to bring opportunities their way. That is a good prayer to make. What we must bear in mind, however, is that opportunity often manifests in the context of your predicament or the predicament of others. Saul’s march to the throne began with the loss of his father’s asses. Joseph’s ascent to the throne came when the king of Egypt had a perplexing dream. And for Mordecai, it was not until a death warrant was issued against him and the entire Jews that he began to move up the ladder. When next you are confronted with a challenge you may wish to consider it as an opportunity which God has brought your way to shoot you up.