Preparation

As I get older I realize the need for preparation in my life.  Life just doesn’t happen.  It is a result of planning and preparation.  I recently began to go to school to prepare for the future God has for my wife and I.  We knew it was time to step out and to be stretched and challenged in our thinking.  As we did so we knew that we are being prepared and pruned for future doors that will open in our lives.  Many people forget that preparation is vital to any of our life’s goals. God chooses the process of preparation to get people ready for the fruit they are called to bare.  Overnight success is never really overnight.  We see examples of Paul who was in preparation for fourteen years before he presented the Gospel he preached to the leaders of the church.  Jesus Himself started his ministry about thirty years of age according to Luke.  Even David was pronounced king, but didn’t reign for many years after that.   All these great men even our Savior Jesus were in a process of preparation. 

As we look at life our success is based upon Christ and him alone, but the process I believe God prepares us through are seasons people never see.  The question I ask God is what am I being prepared for and what steps are you calling me to take to prepare for my future.  We all have plans and desires, but our steps must be directed and established by God.  What sparked my interest in writing about preparation came from the Scriptures.  In Matthew Jesus spoke about ten women.  Five He said were wise and five were foolish.  The wise women prepared oil and planned ahead for the coming of the groom.  The other five were foolish and prepared no oil for themselves.  While the groom was coming he was late so the women slept.  When he arrived the ten women quickly rose and the wise women had enough oil to last while the other five were not prepared and eventually missed their opportunity. 

           How often in life do we have oppurtunites that arise but, because we were not prepared we miss out.  I do not want to be a foolish person who misses his opportunities in life because of improper decisions and preparation.  I want to be the wise one who is ready for the task that is at hand.  While the grace of God is what I rely on in my life and my success is found in Christ alone; I never want to take for granted the leading of the Spirit in the season I am in.  It is this Grace that covers me and opens the doors, but as it covers me I am moved to prepare for the future of the life I have been given.    Today I challenge you to let God’s Grace consume you in all you do and begin to prepare for the future God has for you.  I leave with this great quote “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.”----Henry Ford   

Proverbs 30:25 (New King James Version)

25 The ants are a people not strong,  Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

Proverbs 24:27 (New King James Version)

27 Prepare your outside work,

      Make it fit for yourself in the field;

      And afterward build your house.