Be Ready For Your Opportunity
Are we preparing for our future? Many speakers, like Billy Graham and Charles Spurgeon practiced preaching in private. This helped prepare them for amazing ministries. Eisenhower devoured knowledge about military history. In part, this paved the way for him to make a meteoric rise to the top military leadership position in the European theater of WWII. Abraham Lincoln relentlessly studied and reflected on the great issues of his day in preparation toward his unlikely ascent to becoming President of the United States. Ben Franklin was passionate about his self-education – and it enabled him to play a key role in the successful independence and potential amazing future of the United States.
Our preparation for what God has for us to do isn’t complete until we die. As Disraeli observed, such learning is based on extensive study, extensive personal experience, and extensive suffering. As Christians we fervently study the Bible to better learn about God. Yet, this knowledge must also be translated into personal experience with God (2 Peter 3:18, Wuest). Finally, experiential knowledge cannot be complete without notable suffering. After all, this was even true for God the Son, Jesus Christ, about whom it was said, “He learned obedience from the things He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).
Since education is easier than reeducation, our key preparation should be under people who are competent in their area and, ideally, have a biblical worldview. Otherwise, many of their conclusions will likely be at odds with what God has revealed to be true. And if they are contradicting God Himself, it is NOT God who is wrong!
Comforting others is costly but worth it.