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So often we pass up opportunities because we want them to become realities without any effort or confrontation. And we don't want to persevere when the going gets tough.

I've always admired pioneers - pioneers in anything, whether it's opening up a new territory, inventing new machines and tools or developing new technology. I love the pioneer spirit.

A lot of people see what pioneers do and wish they were experiencing what the pioneers experience. But they're not willing to have a pioneer spirit.

A pioneer spirit is necessary because someone has to "beat the bushes." Someone has to blaze a trail. Someone has to take the risk of going out and starting a new work in a new place when God gives him or her the opportunity.

Lots of people want to wait until someone else has done all the hard work of starting a new church, and then they come and join when it's finished. (Did I hear some pastors say, "Amen!"?) But those folks are not pioneers.

They are the ones who let opportunities pass them by because those opportunities came dressed in overalls and looked like hard work.

Pioneers seize their opportunities. People with the pioneer spirit aren't afraid of the work involved in going with God when He gives them the opportunity to start something new.

"We Need Pies"
Let me tell you a true story about a woman who seized an opportunity to become a pioneer and start something new.

During World War II, this woman worked in a delicatessen in Los Angeles. The owner of the delicatessen said to her one day, "Our customers who regularly come here for lunch want pies. At the moment, we don't serve pies at lunch. But we keep getting requests for pies at lunch. So in order to satisfy our customers, I want you to start making pies for lunch."

Now, I'm sure that at the moment her boss told her to start making pies, this woman didn't realize that a wonderful opportunity was being presented to her. She could have let it pass her by.

She could have said, "Look, I'm already serving tables. I'm already making hamburgers and sandwiches. I'm already cleaning the tables after the customers leave. I don't need the extra job of making pies. Get someone else to make them."

That's what she could have said. She could have let the opportunity slip by without seizing it. But she didn't. She was willing to work diligently to serve her boss.

Branching Out
So she started making pies, and the customers loved them. In fact, eventually most of the people who came to that delicatessen to eat lunch came because of the pies. And the woman began to realize that if people liked her pies so much, she could start her own pie shop.

So she quit her job at the delicatessen and launched out into business for herself making and selling pies.

Of course, it was hard at first. During the first year of being in business for herself, she barely broke even.

She was very discouraged and was ready to give up, but her husband said, "No, I don't want you to give up. I believe this is what we're supposed to do. And if I have to quit my job and join in here making pies with you, I'm going to do it. We're going to see this thing through."

So that's what they did. They got the entire family involved, and selling pies became their family's business. It wasn't long before the business began to be successful.

By 1964, Marie Callender had 115 pie shops or restaurants in fourteen different states. And in 1986, Ramada Inn, Incorporated bought her pie business for approximately $90 million!

How many of you have eaten a Marie Callender pot pie or dined in a Marie Callender restaurant? Well, you're able to do that because Marie Callender seized an opportunity when God presented it to her, and she worked hard and didn't give up even when the going got tough.

That's The Problem
Now some of you may read the story of Marie Callender's success and say, "Well, I've never been that lucky. Nothing like that ever happens to me."

But how do you know? How do you know you weren't given a similar opportunity? "Because I don't like making pies!" That's what I thought. "Hey, man, it's hard work."

You see, that's your problem. The opportunity showed up wearing overalls, and you didn't want to work.

So often we pass up opportunities because we want them to become realities without any effort or confrontation. And we don't want to persevere when the going gets tough.