Webster tells us an opportunity is a “favorable juncture of circumstances.” A moment when the elements for progress merge.

The English playwright and poet William Shakespeare described such moments:

There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyages of their life

Are bound in shallows and in miseries;

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.

In the ancient world, ships would enter a harbor at high tide and receive cargo. Once loaded, a heavy vessel couldn’t depart until high tide. If the captain failed to set sail at high tide, he would miss his chance to leave port. Similarly, when the tide is high, you must board the ship and begin the voyage. The tide won’t wait—and neither will strategic opportunities. 

Solomon said: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

We live in a unique season of history. A season of disease, isolation, unemployment, face masks, death, riots and fear. Yet, the tide rises in every season. Right now you face opportunities . . . a chance to play with a child; listen to a teen; pursue an artistic, or academic endeavor; launch a business; show kindness to your wife or husband; grow deeper with God; speak courage into fear.

The tide is high. Set sail.