To Those Who Must Prepare

A season of preparation is probably the most difficult kind to find yourself in.  Three things can make it ten times worse, if we let them:

1. Watching others attain what you hope to have one day.  I think I’ve earned the right to speak about this in the past year.  I have often felt like I have been watching from a safe distance while God does amazing things in the lives of almost everyone around me.  What we forget when we see this, though, is that these people have probably put in the time and preparation already… The same preparation we are tempted to neglect.  We must not let this become a foothold.  It is too easy to become resentful, bitter and covetous when we are in this season.  A sure way for the enemy to stir up bitterness is to convince us that those who have what we desire are somehow responsible for our having not yet attained it.  That makes no sense on paper, but it is in our nature to seek to blame others rather than to take responsibility and accept the season we are in.
2. Getting a taste of what’s to come.  I have watched so many people get a taste of the kind of ministry they hope to do one day, only to be paralyzed once they are required to prepare any further.  Students here at Liberty will go on a missions trip over break and come back to school completely depressed over having to end their time there.  It is easy to go to a brand new city of people you feel burdened for and labor there for a month.  What we forget is that it takes preparation to end well once you’ve been there any longer than that.  Yes, we must “run in such a way as to get the prize.”  But burn-out quickly catches up to us when we continue to run without having fueled ourselves.  So why would God allow us to get a taste if it can result in depression?  Because it is meant to plant seeds of vision that will encourage us in the right direction.
3. Being naturally talented.  Not every season of productivity is preceded by a season of preparation.  But every season of supernatural productivity is preceded by a season of preparation.  What we forget is that our natural abilities can be our biggest obstacle to giving everything to God.  We can get so far in our own gifting, but relying on our own strength never ends well or gives glory to God.  Jim Cymbala has said, “I despaired at the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show himself mightily on our behalf.”  It is just not enough that we would preform well in this life; if we reach the end and aren’t able to reflect on what God did, we have failed to see but a fraction of all He had waiting for us.

The story of David’s anointing in 1 Samuel 16 continues to resonate with me when I think about preparation.  Samuel anointed David, then David proceeded to return to the sheep he shepherded previously.  That’s got to be frustrating, but because he was a man after God’s own heart, we can learn a thing or two from the way he handled it.  He didn’t have all the answers, but he did the next right thing in front of him… And that was to continue doing well the job he already had.  He proved himself faithful shepherding a flock of sheep and was prepared to shepherd the nation of Israel.  He was faithful with little, so he was prepared to be faithful with much.  If we attempt to skip this season of preparation, we won’t be ready for what’s waiting for us on the other side.

Matthew Barnett said it well in this post on his blog from last week… “Life’s greatest moments are not necessarily when we are in a perfect season but when we actually live in our current season and learn from it.”  Good coaches encourage the quitters to quit.  God will allow us to be tempted to quit, because he is separating those who are willing to prepare from those who will fail to ever reach their full potential.

Advertisement

---