Preparation Over Position: The Path to Effective Ministry
1 Chronicles 6:32b
…and then they waited on their office according to their order.
It has been said that preparedness is half the work; in ministry, I’d say it’s more than that! Preparation for service is much more vital than the position of service; however, many times we’re guilty of focusing on obtaining a position than we are preparing for it. Question; if you are not well equipped, what are you going to do with it when you get it? Never belittle the stages of preparation you must go through before you come into your prime of ministry; waiting is essential! Think about this; before Calvary, God was preparing for all of eternity past for that one moment in time when at last His Son Jesus Christ would present Himself as the final sacrifice for sins once and for all.
One solitary life, having only 33 years on earth in which to become the center of history and the sole source of light and life, Christ gave us the single-most pivotal point of reference by which to gage our lives both here on earth, as well as where we’ll spend eternity; that point of reference is Calvary! About 4,000 years had passed since the creation of the world and the fall of man into sin; no need to worry, for God had a plan, and was well prepared to step down from eternity into time at just the right moment so that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! So then, if everything before the Cross led up to it, and everything after the Cross looks back to it, then we should learn that since preparedness was important enough for even God Himself, then we ought also to place value upon it.
Friend, God is preparing you for your season of productivity; the better prepared you are, the more productive you’ll be once you get there! Everything in your life up to this point has been used to make you the person you are still becoming; it is to prepare you for your most significant place of service. All those lonely nights and tears of sorrow shall pay off when at last you’ll be able to minister effectively to the broken-hearted. All those weary days when your strength almost failed you shall pay off when at last you’ll be able to encourage another fellow-laborer in Christ to go another mile! Don’t skip line, or you’ll lose too much credibility; rather, if you will wait your turn, then when your turn comes, you will be as effective as you’ll ever need to be!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
…and then they waited on their office according to their order.
It has been said that preparedness is half the work; in ministry, I’d say it’s more than that! Preparation for service is much more vital than the position of service; however, many times we’re guilty of focusing on obtaining a position than we are preparing for it. Question; if you are not well equipped, what are you going to do with it when you get it? Never belittle the stages of preparation you must go through before you come into your prime of ministry; waiting is essential! Think about this; before Calvary, God was preparing for all of eternity past for that one moment in time when at last His Son Jesus Christ would present Himself as the final sacrifice for sins once and for all.
One solitary life, having only 33 years on earth in which to become the center of history and the sole source of light and life, Christ gave us the single-most pivotal point of reference by which to gage our lives both here on earth, as well as where we’ll spend eternity; that point of reference is Calvary! About 4,000 years had passed since the creation of the world and the fall of man into sin; no need to worry, for God had a plan, and was well prepared to step down from eternity into time at just the right moment so that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! So then, if everything before the Cross led up to it, and everything after the Cross looks back to it, then we should learn that since preparedness was important enough for even God Himself, then we ought also to place value upon it.
Friend, God is preparing you for your season of productivity; the better prepared you are, the more productive you’ll be once you get there! Everything in your life up to this point has been used to make you the person you are still becoming; it is to prepare you for your most significant place of service. All those lonely nights and tears of sorrow shall pay off when at last you’ll be able to minister effectively to the broken-hearted. All those weary days when your strength almost failed you shall pay off when at last you’ll be able to encourage another fellow-laborer in Christ to go another mile! Don’t skip line, or you’ll lose too much credibility; rather, if you will wait your turn, then when your turn comes, you will be as effective as you’ll ever need to be!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill