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"God is preparing His heroes; and when the opportunity comes, He can fit them into their places in a moment."
So much of what you do physically happens because youve thought about it and prepared for it mentally.
It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for the last day.
LUNCHBOX WORSHIP
Have you ever been sitting in the break room at work or somewhere during lunchtime with your friend or coworker, and begin to eat your lunch that you brought from home? Your friend or coworkers lunch is made from homemade fluffly bread, that’s a two-hander meal, stacked with fresh lettuce, chopped tomatoes, a slice of cheddar cheese with a dill pickle on the side...
Not to mention the side items of a small dish of macaroni salad or chopped fruit, topped with a slice of cake wrapped in cellophane.
While yours is just a couple of pieces of flattened bread with bologna and cheese and a smear of mayo, a stale bag of chips that has been hiding in the back of your pantry, and a coagulated plastic dish of pharmaceutically sealed jello pudding. As you look at their lunch, and discretely wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth, you let out a silent sigh, and munch down on your qui...
Have thy tools ready. God will find thee work.
There is no road too long to the man who advances deliberately and without undue haste; there are no honors too distant to the man who prepares himself for them with patience.
Thorough preparation makes its own luck.
Failing to prepare is preparin...
PREP YOUR HEART
My wife and I have had a painter in the house this week creating a very colorful and fun bedroom for our two youngest sons. The painter is a man who cares deeply about his craft. In conversation with him this week, I have learned a great deal more about the nature of painting than I had previously every considered.
In painting an older home, there is a lot of preparation work involved. Indeed, if the job is to look its best at the end, then it is important to fill all of the cracks between the trim wood and the walls. It is equally important to fill in the gaps between the wall and the door frames and the walls. If the job is to be done properly so that it has lasting results, the window frames have to be roughed up a little bit with sandpaper, and then they have to be painted first with a primer and then the actual paint. If you don't do all of the preparation work, then the results are far less likely to last under difficult conditions; like the conditions of having my active boys and their Saint Bernard playing in their bedroom!
The primer is so important that if you do not use it or apply it properly, it is possible for the paint to just slide off as you apply it. When applied, the paint has to be able to stick to the wall to get proper coverage. In this case, we were using some very high pigment Disney colors, and because of the saturation of the colorant in the paint, when it is applied to a smooth wall or window frame without the proper preparation work, the paint would just slip, drip and slide all over the place. All the effort available in this case does little more than to spread the pigment around in streaks and blotches but never causes it to adhere. Though you would work for days on end, without the proper preparation work the paint would never cover the way it should have.
In Jeremiah 31:31-34, the prophet foretells the days in which we now live. Without the proper preparation work of allowing God to write His law on our hearts, we will never be able to fulfill the command of Christ to be merciful unto others even as God is merciful to us, as recorded in Matthew 22:37-40.
PREPARING FOR DEPARTURE
I once read how, in the spring of 1981, a young man was flown into desolate northern Alaska to photograph the natural beauty and mysteries of the tundra. He took along 500 rolls of film, several firearms, and 1,400 pounds of provisions.
As the months passed, the words in his diary changed from wonder and fascination into a nightmare. In August he wrote, "I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure. I'll soon find out."
In November he died in a nameless valley, by a nameless lake, 225 miles northeast of Fairbanks. An investigation revealed that though he had carefully planned his trip, he had made no provision to be flown out.
Difficult to imagine, isn't it? How could anyone be so foolish? He made every provision for his journey except how to get home! Unbelievable! "How tragic," we say. And yet, how many people make every provision for life here on earth but no preparation for their departure? God has warned us that there is life after death ... after which is God's judgment. As God warned the nation of Israel to prepare to meet God (Amos 4:12), so He warns us, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:27). Are you prepared to meet God?
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