02. Preparation is Biblical

Today, people ridicule the concept of preparation. This is because we live in a fast-paced world. We want things done faster than the speed of light, so preparation seems like a waste of time. We want things to happen the second we wish it. 

Some ladies stay online for several hours watching others’ wedding pictures and start to admire the glamour and beauty of marriage from their smartphones. Before long, she finds any guy that comes her way, and whim, she is married without taking time to prepare for marriage. She believes that things will sort themselves out once she gets into marriage instead of preparing to determine the outcome.

Do you share the same life view? Are you also seeing the New Year, and all you are thinking about is the new car or apartment you will move into? Perhaps you also have several imaginations in your head, and it all ends as imaginations instead of preparing to make it happen. Even the boy’s scout slogan is Be Prepared, to show how preparation cuts across every aspect of life. 

The word “prepare” is found about 159 times in the entire Bible, telling us that God doesn’t move haphazardly; rather, He operates from the standpoint of preparation. From the beginning, the Bible says in Genesis 1:1-2, “God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” 

Did you see the effort that went into creating the awesome edifice called earth? God didn’t just wake up and start talking things into existence. Before he engaged the word, the Spirit of God first moved on the face of the deep, making the atmosphere conducive for the word that would proceed later. 

The truth is, anything that will last must be prepared for. All through the scriptures, we see God preparing men and women for specific purposes and assignments. Jesus prepared for thirty tears for a three-year ministry. You can imagine that. The Bible says in Matthew 1:21, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” This was a declaration of Jesus’ assignment. He was sent to the world for a singular purpose-to save humanity from our sins. But for thirty full years, the young man with such glorious destiny was obediently helping his Father in the carpentry business. He built chairs and tables for the people He was supposed to save from sin. 

That seems like a waste of precious time, but all that time was His moment of preparation for the glorious assignment ahead. Here is how Luke puts it in Luke 1:80, “So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.” He was preparing for His ministry; no wonder the impact is still being felt today. 

The Lord is serious about preparation; before He came, He sent John the Baptist to prepare the way. The Bible says in Mark 1:2-3, “As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’”  

Also, the plan of salvation wasn’t hurried overnight. Let me ask you a question, how did you think God reacted when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit? Do you think God was surprised or suddenly got angry? Maybe you’ve never thought of this before. Believe me, God wasn’t surprised. Are you saying God expected it to happen? I am saying He already had a plan. God is too sovereign for any devil to spoil His work. He is all-knowing, so no devil can catch Him unawares. Why I’m I saying this? The Bible says in Revelations 13: 8, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” 

I want you to read this verse again. God had made adequate preparation for man’s fall. So, when the first Adam fell, the plan for the second Adam (Jesus) to save him was set in motion. This is awesome. So, you need to live and be like your Father, who doesn’t joke with preparation. He doesn’t step on stage and start to test His voice; no, He does that much in advance.

Lord Jesus also had twelve disciples who stood with Him all through His ministry. The Bible says in Mark 3:14, “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,” Again, Jesus could have picked these people on the way to the cross and briefed them on how to continue the ministry when He is gone. Well, I don’t know how far that crash program would go. But, He chose them early in His ministry, so He could have enough time to prepare them for the task ahead. He took about three years to expose them to the various aspect of the tasks because they would be the first set of people to bear the gospel when He was gone. Again, preparation.

We see the story of a young man named Joseph. This man had a vision of his life at the early age of thirteen years, but the vision didn’t become a reality until he clocked thirty years. He faced so many challenges that seem like God was against him. I’m sure there would be moments when he felt the vision he saw was false. “Maybe it was just an image in my mind.” “Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be.” But all that he went through before ascending the throne were preparations for the throne. Joseph was going to be the ship that kept his entire family safe in the hard times. He was the channel through which they would move from scarcity to abundance. That assignment isn’t a cakewalk. So he won’t break in the process, he went through sufficient preparation.

I’m sure you had an awesome time in the past year. Of course, you can always testify of the great things that God did for you this year in all areas of life. But, if you must see greater things, you need to prepare for the New Year. The Bible says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness. And rivers in the desert.” But to enjoy all these in the coming year, we must prepare and start now. We should not allow the devil or circumstances to determine our position or portion, and neither should we allow the government to determine what becomes of us. We are precious in God’s sight, and so He is calling us to a moment of preparation even from now. 

He has seen ahead, and He would certainly make way for us. Perhaps you are already on the seat of preparation, don’t give up. Keep on, and you will arrive the next year a shining star.