Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden is quoted as having said, "failing to prepare is preparing to fail." It is hard to argue this point with a man who won as many collegiate basketball championships as Coach Wooden. Not only did he prepare his teams to win on the court but off the floor as well, in the more important arena of life. The chaos in the world around is today is the result of so many, each of us included, not adequately preparing for the decisions we have made, and continue to make. Let's learn from this and improve our preparation.
Similarly we each need to prepare ourselves for the things we are looking to do in our future. This requires a level of thought that recognizes where we are currently, what assets and liabilities we bring to the table, and a destination (where we want to go).
Nowhere is this more important than in our spiritual lives. There is a saying around Christian circles that says, "Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people." This preparation is spoken of in John 14:1-3:
"Let not your heart be troubled;
you believe in God,
believe also in Me.
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.
And if I go to prepare
a place for you ,
I will come again
and receive you to myself;
that where I am ,
there you may be also.
Step 1
If we are Christians we must determine that we will follow through on our commitment to Christ. This is a reckoning of sorts where we evaluate where we are in our lives. In the beginning our faith feels strong as we are "on fire for the Lord," while in reality that faith is actually weak and in need of nurture. We do hold assets that we can use to not only strengthen our faith but that of others we encounter. This could be our personality, our ability to speak, write, otherwise communicate, or a multitude of other positive traits. It is our duty to turn these talents over to God so that He may use them fully in further developing us in order to bless others.
Step 2
As we begin our journey we bring baggage with us that we must let go of in order to move forward. Guilt, shame, and feelings of inadequacy are some of the stains from the sin in our lives. As Christians those sins have been washed clean and forgotten by God, yet we hold onto them and continue to
let them limit our faith. The sooner we recognize the power that was unleashed from the cross, directly into our lives, the sooner we can enjoy the fullness of our release from sin's captivity. In a simple phrase, look back and let it go!
Step 3
Finally lets look to the destination. We want to see that prepared place that is Heaven. We want to better understand how John in his vision or Revelation was at a loss to fully describe what he was seeing. The Bible teaches that Heaven is a place where there will be no suffering, where we will be in the very presence of God. How great would that be? I look forward to that day and the magnificence of it, as each of us should.
The beautiful thing about this simple 3 step approach to our Christianity is that it can be overlaid onto other areas of our lives as well such as a our career, our finances, our education, our fitness, or our families. It is always (I rarely use this word) worthwhile to recognize our strengths or assets, which are gifts from God, our liabilities or weaknesses, which are often self-inflicted wounds from poor choices we have made, and our destination.
If we know these three things, and add to them prayer, study, worship, and service we can make a difference not only in our lives but the lives of others. I pray that you and I will each take a closer look at these three simple aspects of our lives and determine to Do Well with all that God has provided for us.
