I went downstairs to the kitchen yesterday morning to take the chicken out of the freezer so it would be completely thawed out and ready to bake by 5PM. It always helps to know what I'm cooking early in the day so I can prep it. That way, everything goes smoothly once the hour rolls around to make the evening meal for the family. There's nothing worse than neglecting to do the proper prep and then, staring at a hunk of meat that's frozen solid when I need to whip up something in a hurry. Don't you hate it when that happens?
Whenever I do forget, although it's not the end of the world, it does prolong the time it takes to get dinner on the table. Plus, the kids get all antsy, as if they're gonna die of starvation at any moment. After hearing, "Mooom, is dinner ready yeeeet?" about 30 consecutive times in the span of ten minutes, from four different children, I start kicking myself for not remembering.
When I was younger, I never quite understood my mom's annoyance when I heard her say, "Shoot, I forgot to take my meat out!" Now that I'm older and have a family of my own, I sound just like her when I say it and I think to myself, "I, Dianna Hobbs, am turning into my mother..." Guess that's just the cycle of life, huh? Well, it's safe to say that, these days, I fully understand why preparation is the key to keeping a house running smoothly.
As we mature, most of us can readily see the importance of preparation when dealing with everyday tasks like thawing meat out, laying clothes out for the next day, organizing and prioritizing duties. But when it comes to our spiritual walk, we often struggle with the preparation phase, don't we? We want everything right away. We want it to happen now, or better yet, like yesterday.
Still, no matter how frustrating that waiting period can be, God knows that it makes things flow more smoothly in the end. During our preparation phase, the Lord will keep us "on the shelf" and let us sit a while. While this is going on, we often feel unproductive, as if we're lagging behind in some way. But, quite the opposite is true.
During our personal time of preparation, God is refining, positioning and readying us, so that when our set time arrives, there will be nothing lacking in our ability to seize the moment. Consider Esther and how she had to undergo a full year of preparation before she was ready to go before the King (Esther 2:12). When her time came, she was ready and ultimately, found favor with him.
In the Kingdom of God, no one gets to skip over the preparation phase. God has to work on us all before releasing us into our destiny.
Right now, I admonish you to embrace the season you're in. If God has you in a place of waiting and prepping, accept where you are and allow Him to work on you. You can be sure that when your time of release comes, everything He's poured into you during your time of preparation will truly work together for your good in your time of elevation.
Instead of complaining, thank God for preparation. If you endure the process, it will indeed work in your favor.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs



