Constant preparation

I want you to think about all of the things in life that you have ever cared about accomplishing. Those things probably had one thing in common and that is preparation.

I am going to take a trip down memory lane and tell you a story about how preparedness helped me accomplish my biggest goal...

In 7th grade it became my dream to play college basketball. I had gotten connected with the right coach down in Lima and after going through some of his workouts, he saw a lot of potential in me and told me that he believed I would be playing in college someday. That coach is actually the father of Michigan’s starting point guard. I remember coach Q telling me that if I outworked everyone and continued to do the extra work that anything was possible. He would also tell me that all the work I was doing was going to prepare me for my future.

Lima is a little less than 2 hours away from Archbold and my parents would drive me down their for workouts a couple times a week. Those workouts are what made me into the basketball player that I became. I had never worked so hard for any coach and he was the first coach I ever had that believed in the type of player I could become and who believed in working us out to exhaustion. I am not joking when I said his workouts were hard. There were times I could hardly make it to the car because my legs hurt so bad. I also never wanted to eat after practice because my stomach hurt so bad. For those who know me, this was a big deal because I love to eat.

When it came to playing games for coach Q I knew that we were going to be prepared for every situation. We were prepared because of the insane amount of work that we put in and how we did it.

What I learned from coach Q prepared me for the off season as well. I knew the work that I needed to put in all year around in order to accomplish my goal of becoming a college basketball player.

Did you know that Christ wants us to be prepared both in and out of season? Much like coach Q wanted the best out of me and to be prepared for every situation, God wants us to prepared all of the time.

Preach the word; be prepared in and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)

At all times we must be prepared to preach the word. We never know what sort of encounters we might have where we have the opportunity to share the gospel. I believe that we are capable of preaching the word through both our actions and words. You don’t need to be on a street corner preaching in order to be prepared. You don’t prepare for moments like that.

The things that we do on a daily basis are what prepare us to preach the word through our actions and words everyday. Some of the things we have to do is read our bibles, pray, love others, trust in the Lord, and worship. Doing those things everyday will change your life.

Actions speak louder than words. You could stand on the street corner and preach all you want but until you are living in such a way that is obedient and your actions are a reflection of Christ I don’t know info you’re really prepared.

Being constantly prepared is an idea that you can use in all areas of your life. Faith, family, work, relationships, etc.

If I’m not prepared when I go into a meeting or don’t have the right answer to tell somebody what I do, what good will I ever do with my practice?

What good will you ever do if you are not constantly prepared?