BE PREPARED

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

A man said: One morning I went out to start my car to go to church. I had a flat tire. Luckily, I had a spare tire. I changed the tire quickly and was on my way. But I didn’t think to drop the spare off to be fixed. I said, "I’ll get around to it." Within five days I went out to my car to go to school. I had another flat tire. Only this time I had no spare. I had to roll it to nearest service station and wait while it was fixed.

When something breaks, fix it now. Some things need to be fixed right now. It’s called preparation. Prepare for action. Prepare for breakdowns. Prepare for flat tires. In fact, it’s better to check your tires regularly and then perhaps you won’t experience a flat tire. If a person keeps their car maintained then hopefully, it won’t break down in times of stress, bad weather, etc. And if a person keeps their faith maintained then it, too, won’t let them down in times of difficulty and stress. Preparation is the key.

Prepare your mind. Thinking doesn’t get better unless we help it along. Our thinking doesn’t improve by doing nothing. Right thinking doesn’t happen without thinking right. Isn’t that brilliant? Right thinking is needed. Right thinking will produce right actions. When a person thinks about things that are true and right, they seek after those things. They will do those things. Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." You are what you are and you are where you are today because of your thinking. Your thinking has brought you to this point in your life, be it good, great, or otherwise. But we all must prepare our minds for action in the future. The future is ahead. How will we do? It depends on our thinking.

Most worthwhile things take time to prepare. Life is the most worthwhile thing we will do. We must prepare our minds for this worthwhile adventure. How do we prepare our minds for action? With scripture and prayer. There is no better way.

In addition to our minds, we must prepare our bodies. Our scripture says “be self-controlled”. In other words, control yourself, control your body. If we are going to be self-controlled as the scripture says, then we must prepare our bodies as well as our minds.

Life is truly a journey. If we are to succeed, we must be prepared. Peter gives his hearers great instruction on how to live blessed in the midst of persecution. Be ready in thought, exhibit patience, and look to God who is sufficient in our time of need. We can view life’s trials with thoughtfulness, patience, and faith. Be prepared to excel in life and to achieve the destiny God has granted you.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (who was a justice on the Supreme Court nominated by Theodore Roosevelt) said: To reach the port of heaven we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail and not drift, nor lie at anchor.

We must sail, not drift. Drifting will get us nowhere. The Christian life is a life of action, doing, working, and serving. Because of this action, we must prepare ourselves; we must prepare our minds, our bodies and our hearts for serving the Lord. We must do whatever it takes to be a doer in the kingdom of God.