Stepping Into Opportunity - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Read: Colossians 4:2-6 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Colossians 4:5

Like lots of people, I struggle to get enough exercise. So I recently got something to motivate myself to move: a pedometer that counts steps. It's a simple thing. But it's amazing how much difference this gadget makes in my motivation. Instead of grumbling when I have to get off the couch, I see it as an opportunity to get a few more steps. Mundane tasks, like getting one of my kids a cup of water, become opportunities that help me work toward a larger goal. In that sense, my pedometer has changed my perspective and my motivation. Now I look to get extra steps in whenever possible.

I wonder if our Christian life isn't a bit like that. There are opportunities to love and serve and interact with people every day, as Paul exhorts in Colossians 4:5. But am I always aware of those moments? Am I paying attention to opportunities to be an encourager in seemingly mundane interactions? God is at work in the lives of every person I relate to, from my family and coworkers to a clerk at the grocery store. Each interaction offers a chance for me to pay attention to what God might be doing—even if it's something as seemingly "small" as kindly asking a server at a restaurant how she's doing.

Lord, please help us to become people who notice the needs of others.
Who knows how God might work in those moments when we're alert to the opportunities He sends our way.

Lord, there are so many opportunities to love, listen, and serve those around us each day. Please help us to become people who notice the needs of others.

Take every opportunity to serve someone.

By Adam Holz