Have you ever had one of those dreams where you show up somewhere completely unprepared? Maybe its just me, but i’ve read that it’s a very common dream theme. I’ve had dreams where I’m expected to perform I task I know absolutely nothing about. Its usually something crazy like landing a plane or playing an instrument I’ve never touched before in front of a large crowd.
Obviously, the situations that come up in our dreams will hopefully not be seen in this lifetime, like being expected to fly a jet without a pilot’s license. But not being prepared is definitely something that can occur in our daily lives. What does preparedness look like to God? I think it simply means being ready and able to be used for his Kingdom work. That is a big challenge and much easier said than done. Being prepared goes beyond how we feel about a situation or other distractions that are going one outside of the task at hand. In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul is urging Timothy to preach the word in and out of season. I believe this is a concept we can apply to how we serve and prepare ourselves for God’s work. Being prepared is prayerfully asking God, “What will you have me do?” and having the courage and boldness to follow through, regardless of what season of life we find ourselves. Following through is a whole lot easier when we are prepared.
Being prepared also means using and developing the gifts God has given us. One of the most logical ways to do this is to practice and get better at your craft. I would hope that a surgeon is continually practicing his surgical skills in order to be the best surgeon possible. As musicians, we must always seek to get better at our instrument by spending disciplined time in practice and rehearsal. The people with the greatest amount of skill on the planet are people who have probably spent the most and hours in practice. Combine practice with a gift from the Lord and we have the tools that prepare us to be used by the Father.
Have a great week!
-SHF
