Prepare yourself

All things don’t come to those who wait but to those who prepare. There is a great illustration of this in 2 Kings 3. As part of God’s strategy for defeating the Moabites, God told the Israelites to dig a ditch and He would fill it with water until it became a mighty river. They did, and as a result they experienced a spectacular victory. But don’t miss the point here. God said, “When you have dug the ditch, then I will fill it!” (see v. 17 NKJV). God can use anybody, but He doesn’t; He uses prepared people. Moses lived to be 120. His first forty years were spent in a palace, his second forty years were spent in a wilderness, and his last forty years were spent fulfilling his God-given assignment. That’s two-thirds of his life in preparation! What happens when you’re not prepared? Things you hope won’t happen, do. Often the dividing line between winning and losing is preparation! Singing, “When you wish upon a star,” won’t make your dream come true – you have to prepare yourself! Paul’s ministry begins with the words, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Whereupon God takes him into the desert for the next three years to teach him and prepare him for his ministry. Whether your vocation is sacred or secular, you have to know what it will cost in terms of time, effort, and resources, and prepare for it. “Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts” (Proverbs 24:3 TLB). So the word for you today is – prepare yourself.