Revelation 21:2
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
One of the greatest differences that I have observed between those who tend to accomplish more and those who tend to struggle is preparation. I knew an individual who everyone around him knew that a project wouldn’t be given attention until it was a crisis. I have also known several individuals who were well-planned with everything they did, and I believe that God has blessed their ministry in part due to their preparation.
Preparation is a godly characteristic. When John described Heaven, he said it was “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” This is exactly what Jesus said He would do in John 14:2 where he says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” The value of preparation cannot be overemphasized. God can certainly use those who are unprepared, but He will use the prepared individual in a greater way. Let me give you several observations about preparation from the Scriptures.
First, preparation shows the value of what you are about to do. Matthew 22:4 talks about a man who prepared a dinner for some guests. Preparation truly shows how much you value what you are doing. If you believe in what you are doing, you will prepare for it. A lack of passion, love and respect are revealed by the lack of preparation. If what you are doing is worth doing, it is worth spending the time to prepare for it. God’s people should always be a prepared people.
Second, the lack of preparation shows a lack of respect. The servant in Luke 12:47 didn’t respect his master’s words and wasn’t prepared when he returned. If you respect people, you will prepare for their coming. If you respect the work of the LORD, you will spend time preparing for what you are supposed to do for Him. You will always observe that the greatest works of the LORD were well-prepared events. If you truly want the LORD to work in your life, you had better learn the value of preparing.
Third, preparation shows faith in God. The reason Noah prepared an ark is because he had the faith that God was going to send a flood. The lack of preparation exposes a lack of faith that God can do the miraculous. If you believe in the God of miracles, you will prepare for His miracles. The disciples didn’t have the faith that God could fill the nets, so they let down the net. This action revealed their lack of faith in God’s power to perform the miraculous which led to their unpreparedness when the miracle happened. If you truly have faith that God can perform miracles through your life and ministry, it will show in your preparation.
Fourth, preparation replaces stress with enjoyment. One of the reasons Heaven is a happy place is because it is a prepared place. If you want to remove stress from your life, start planning for everything. You cannot live a stress-free life when you are doing everything at the last minute. Preparation allows you to get everything done so that you can care for the unexpected. When the unexpected happens, you won’t be stressed out if you are prepared.
My friend, learn the value of being a prepared person. Life will have less stress and be filled with more miracles and enjoyment if you prepare for everything that you do.