Being Prepared Dear Friends, Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the ocean, wreaking havoc n the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer, “Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him. “Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the work he was doing. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!” The farm hand rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.” Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.* Don’t you love that story and what it teaches us about the advantages of being prepared? You know what I mean if you ever have had a very important event to plan for. A wedding? A dinner or party that you wanted to be just right? A funeral or memorial service? A legal case? A major exam? An appeal for someone’s understanding or forgiveness? A speech or public presentation? Or a business meeting where the outcome was critically important? We don’t walk into any of these situations without lots of planning and preparation. We make all the right phone calls, line up the appropriate help, study, prepare an outline, come up with a Power Point presentation, seek all the facts, or practice our speech over and over again. We are aiming toward an important goal and the key to success is preparation. God expects that we will prepare ourselves for the assignments He wants to give us in the work of His kingdom. He also expects that we will be spiritually prepared for the challenges that will come in our lives. GOD’S PART And, as a loving Father, He models for us the importance of planning ahead as Scripture reveals God’s own also preparations well in advance of certain events. Here are a few examples: God Prepared a Body for Jesus The body He prepared or Jesus was part of His bigger plan of redeeming us. Because of the sacrifice of the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth, who was both fully God and fully human, the penalty was paid for our sins and we can receive undeserved, but complete, forgiveness. All we have to do is acknowledge in our hearts that there is no other way to God except through Jesus and His sacrifice and then to believe that His death and resurrection are all that God requires to restore our broken relationship with Him and make us part of His eternal family. This preparation means that our past is settled. Jesus Prepared a Place for Us Jesus told His disciples that He was going away to prepare a place for them. Someday He would return to get them so that they could be together forever. He has promised us eternal life with Him and He will be true to His promise. We can rely on Him in faith to keep the promises He has made. This reparation means that our future is secure. God Prepared a Table in the Wilderness David tells us that the Lord, as our shepherd, feeds us in the wilderness even when there are enemies all around us. He not only provides food, but He puts on a linen tablecloth and brings out the best china. Probably even candles! We are going to have a leisurely meal even in the middle of a lot of conflict and concern. Our Lord creates an atmosphere to allow us to be at peace even thought we may be surrounded by enemies, the archenemy, and troubles on every hand. This preparation tells us that our present circumstances are not to distract us. God Prepared Good Works for Us to Do God has a job for us in establishing His kingdom on earth and in reaching others with the truth of the message of the gospel. He has given us spiritual empowerment and gifts for the accomplishment of the good works he has for us to do. So, we need to be busily and happily involved in God’s work here on earth. If you don’t know what good works God has for you to do, ask Him. Then start somewhere and allow Him to open and or shut doors as you seek the places and kinds of service that He has prepared in advance for you to do. This preparation tells us that our purpose is defined. We have a reason to be and we have something to do. All of us! OUR PART Then, the Bible goes on to explain that we have some preparing to do, too. Let’s take a look. We are to prepare to meet God Our motive is relationship. We will meet God someday face to face. From the point of our acceptance of the payment Christ made for our sins in the body God prepared for Him to the day we leave this earth, we are to be preparing for that meeting. Will we be ashamed? I think most of us will. We will realize our failures, our lack of total commitment, and our weakness. But Jesus will stand beside us and remind the Father that we belong to Him and we will be accepted with open arms. But, don’t you want to at least be able to know that once you were enlightened spiritually, you began
So, let’s keep in mind the preparation God has already done in sending Jesus, in giving us the Bible, and giving us minds to understand, and in giving us hearts to seek Him, and desires to serve Him. Then our goal is, as always, to lift up Jesus and to bring glory to God. In doing that, we will be making the best possible preparation for the most important meeting of our lives! “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” (I John 2:28) I love how the Bible is full of examples of God doing what only God can do and of us as humans doing the part He gives us to do. Our part, His part. Together, as we each do our parts, we grow and serve and become more and more like Jesus. He is preparing us to be with Him forever. Aren’t you glad? I am! Joy to you today! Bev *Story taken from Uncle Arthur’s Online |
