Which Were Prepared
Revelation 9:15
"And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men."
We often overlook the little phrases in verses that are as important to our lives as the context of the whole chapter. In the verse above, God is unleashing His wrath upon the world. It says that God loosed four angels to carry out this task. What is interesting is that these angels were prepared for their task. They weren't haphazardly given a task to do at the last minute, but they were given the task well ahead of time, and they prepared for at least a year to carry out their task. According to this verse, they prepared and planned for a whole year, and every month, day and hour how they were going to do the task that God wanted them to do.
The success of every task is accomplished in the preparation. It doesn't matter how much talent one may have, it only matters how much preparation is made. The act on the stage is not what measures the success, it is the preparation in practice that determines the success. It is not the plays on the field that determine a team's success, but it is the hours of watching film and practicing plays that determines the success of a team. I would rather have a team that has less talent but works hard in their preparation than a team that has great talent but does little preparation. Success is made in the preparation, not in the performance. Sure, we enjoy the performance of success, but all the hard work and preparation behind the scenes is what allowed the success to happen.
If you are going to be successful in your life, career or endeavor, then much attention must be given to the preparation time. You may have talent that will give you some success, but great success will only happen if there is much time given to preparation. You cannot have great success without great preparation.
Success starts in the preparation of your annual goals. The verse above says that the angels prepared for a year. You should start preparing for events a year ahead. Planning for an event a week or month ahead will only cause you to have to rush the preparation. Prepare ahead in your finances. Don't wait until you are pushing your senior years to start planning for your retirement. Plan for your retirement years prior to it.
Moreover, every month preparation should be made for upcoming events. For instance, I start preparing for upcoming revival meetings a month in advance. Don't get me wrong, my schedule is planned annually, but my detailed planning for a meeting is done a month in advance. I start preparing my mind for the meetings of the month. I start looking for the sermons I will preach at that church a month in advance. My purpose for this is that it allows my mind to take truths that I will preach and tailor those truths to that church. You should work on next month's events this month.
Furthermore, you should live each day with a daily schedule. Start your day by planning what you will do. Plan to accomplish things that day. Don't let a day go by when you haven't accomplished something. Have a schedule for tasks that you must accomplish that day.
Finally, plan what time you will do each task. When a time comes for you to do something, then give your full attention to that task. Don't worry about your next task, for you can give your next task the attention needed when the scheduled time comes. Give the task at hand your complete attention.
Success will always be determined in the preparation. Don't ever treat the time of preparation as insignificant. How much you prepare will determine the degree of success you have. If you spend little time preparing, then you will have little success; however, if you spend much time and effort in preparation, then you will find great success.