Open Heaven 13 April 2026: Reversing Opportunities
MEMORISE
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. Deuteronomy 30:3
READ: John 21:15-19
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
Read Other Open Heaven Devotional Here
It is popularly said that an opportunity lost can never be regained. However, this can only be true when God decides to be silent about such opportunities. The moment God gets involved, lost opportunities can be regained.
In the 1960s, I was a games master at a school called Okeigbo/Ifetedo Grammar School. The school received an invitation to participate in a competition in Akure, one of the state capitals in Western Nigeria, and I got talking with the host school’s games master during the competition.
Sometime later, I was admitted into the University of Lagos for my Master’s degree, and I applied to the Federal Government for a scholarship. When a year passed without a response from the Federal Government, I assumed that I didn’t get the scholarship, and I continued paying the fees myself.
One day, while walking on the university campus, I saw the games master I had met in Akure over a year earlier. We got talking again, and he told me that he was now working with the Federal Ministry of Education.
Then I said to him, “I applied for a scholarship with your ministry, and l did not get any response.” He then told me that he remembered my application because I was the only one who applied for a postgraduate scholarship in mathematics. He said it was a unanimous decision to grant me the scholarship, and that the interview would have been a formality.
To cut the story short, he said that he would see what he could do about it, and we parted ways. Two weeks later, I got a letter from the Federal Ministry of Education granting me a full scholarship that was backdated to the day I started my Master’s programme. I decree that any good opportunity that you thought had been lost forever will be restored by the Almighty God, in Jesus’ name.
In Matthew 26:69-75, Peter had the opportunity to stand for Christ; however, he lost it when he denied the Lord thrice. He was so heartbroken that he decided to return to fishing (John 21:3). However, Jesus stepped in and gave him another opportunity, as we see in today’s Bible reading.
After the Lord’s intervention, the same man, who denied Jesus three times, boldly faced the rulers who killed the Lord and told them that he would not stop speaking about Him (Acts 4:8- 13).
Beloved, have you lost valuable opportunities in the past? Ask God for mercy, and He will restore you and help you regain such opportunities.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, Please give me a second chance and restore every good opportunity I have lost, in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Open Heaven 13 April 2026
