May 31, 2007

The Power Of Preparation

God is teaching me lately to NEVER underestimate the power of preparation and servant hood.

There have been many many areas where I have volunteered over my lifetime, and there have been days, when I have wondered, "Why am I doing this?!! I'm not getting paid!! Am I wasting my time?" In these moments of "soulish" thinking, God always reminds me of the scripture in Ephesians 6:7-8

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

He always reminds me that He is the one who led me to serve in those areas, and that ultimately it was Him that I was serving, and He always keep an account of our servant hood before Him. We do however have to be careful that we are not serving to gain recognition, or affirmation from others, but if God has led you there, then He will reward you in it. He has a plan of preparation for your life that is not your thinking, but His divine plan.

The word PREPARE means:

To fit, adapt, or qualify for a particular purpose or condition; to make ready; to put into a state for use or application; as, to prepare ground for seed; to prepare a lesson.
To procure as suitable or necessary; to get ready; to provide; as, to prepare ammunition and provisions for troops; to prepare ships for defense;

God will use even the most difficult of situations to prepare us. He may not intended for those difficult situations, however He will teach us and give us strategies in these circumstances that will prepare us even more for what He has in store for us. Eph. 6 says that He will reward EVERYONE for whatever good he does.

Gods reward system doesn't look like the world's reward system. I have not been able to completely understand His reward system, however, I have been able to experience some of it.

Often His rewards look like, peace, or an increase of knowledge, an understanding of His character or a certain attribute, or learning the value of servant hood. The list is endless and custom tailored to what you need.
If God has asked you to serve in an area, then it is never a waste of time. During seasons of servant hood, He is working deep lessons into your spirit man, and having you partner with Him to sow seeds of righteousness that may not surface a bear fruit for a time. But make no mistake, they will bear fruit. God cannot go against His laws of sowing and reaping.

Of late, God has been showing me all the skills that I have learned while serving and volunteering. He has been showing me that all this time, He has been training and preparing me for His ultimate purpose for my life. He has had a "custom-made destiny" set up for me, and all the preparation, and days of serving have been in His plan. How exciting!! All this time, He has been setting me up. He is setting you up. No lesson or experience is a waste of time in His kingdom.
So today, if you are a little weary in well-doing, remember that you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ and he always keeps an accurate record. And He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He's the best investment plan that I know.

For I know the plans I have for You, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

God, today we choose to submit to Your plans for our lives, recognizing that wherever we are serving right now, is part of Your plan for preparation. Help us to remember that all we do is for you. Our lives are a reflection of worship before You, and You see it all.

7 comments:

Nana Cheryl said...

AMEN!! God NEVER "wastes" anything. He takes everything and works it together for our good!! So many times we say, "Why has this come into my life?" only to "see why" later. God is so much wiser than we are.

Ultimately we are serving Him in all that we do. When we are "paid" here, then we already have our reward. We are told to store up our treasure in Heaven (stock up THAT account rather than here). Don't get stuck on working for reward. Don't get weary and give up doing good. (Galatians 6:9)

God is preparing us and when we do our part to prepare (as this awesome definition says), we will accomplish the task!!

Nadine said...

Nice post about serving unto the Lord. Thank you for stopping by my blog and saying hello. I too look forward to meeting you. Maybe next time I can come with him. I want to thank you for being such a blessing to my husband and to the Clarks.

Anonymous said...

Cheryl- You are right, once we get paid, we already have our reward! Wow, good thought.

Nadine, I hope you can come with him next time!

Emancipation of the Freed said...

Hi Cheryl:

I had a great time with you guys in Kelowna. You made me feel like family and now you're part of mine. Thanks for linking me to your blog, I've added you to mine. Please send Sid my love.

Tom

Jen said...

Cheryl

Such a true post!
I have to say, I am VERY thankful for all that God has prepared me with through the mundane, the seemingly insignificant, the tiresome and even the brutally tuff stuff.
I have seriously looked at my whole life recently.....would not change one thing....WOULDN'T WANT TO RELIVE LOTS OF IT....but if I changed even the smallest detail, would I be who and what I am? You are right, His design is not for the crap, but He is so good at using it!

As God leads me into areas I feel totally ill equipped for, He shows me the lessons I have learned at the most unlikely times. It is those very lessons that equip us.
I'd hate to think he might have called me to lead or do something and I hadn't learned the lessons of serving first.


Blessings on you wonderful Molenaars,
Jen

Shari said...

I often don't like the Prep part...it usually means a lot of Hard work. But later when I see how it all fits in the big picture - then I have a different perspective. Plowing and sowing is not nearly as much fun as reaping, harvesting and enjoying the fruits of my labors....but you can't have one without the other!

I finally have my computer back up and running and of course blogging once more.

Roxanne said...

Good word! Thanks Cheryl.