Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 11, 2015
Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. Proverbs 24:27
God blesses a process of preparation, as His Spirit is more productive when it has preparation to work with on behalf of God’s will. Our activities need to be more than just going through the motions without meaningful results. God blesses prayerful preparation and uses it to accomplish His purposes. Farmers understand how this principle of preparation leads to productivity. They show up and prepare the soil, and God’s sun and rain does the rest. However, there is a massive amount of prep work and ongoing care that contributes to the end results. So it is as we prepare our heart, our home, and our work.
Our heart houses our dreams, desires, and motivations. A clean heart has elevated leverage in the hands of the Lord. Therefore, it is imperative that we daily desire for Christ to create a clean heart within us (Psalm 51:10), as a cleansed heart gets righteous results. Our spiritual preparation is to come daily to God and offer our life as a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1-2). The preparation of our character is foundational to furthering His will. If we rush past forging a deep faith in Him, our productivity will at best leave behind temporal results; so proper preparation positions you now and for eternity.
Secondly, prepare your home, and you will have a higher probability of watching your family flourish. It is in your home where faith is your first line of defense. A home built on the solid rock of your Savior will stand when the winds of adversity reach gale force (Matthew 7:24). So, make sure to invest relational and emotional capital in your family first. Do not wait and give them the leftovers of your life. Prepare your family by giving them the very best of your time and attention. A prepared home will result in a harvest of healthy relationships. Prepare your spouse and children by leading them in the ways of the Lord.
Your model of love and obedience to God will give them the motivation and courage to do the same. Teach them how to know God and why it is wise to obey Him. A prepared family is productive by giving credibility to Christ. It gives moral authority to a man who wants to influence others for God.
Once you have prepared your heart and home, you are positioned to have maximum productivity at work. Take the time to listen to, understand, and plan with those whom you serve. Steward your time, resources, and relationships around robust planning, process, and accountability. Make meetings meaningful by engaging the participants in planning the agenda beforehand. Ask for ongoing feedback on how to improve processes and future projects. Wise work preparation results in accomplishing what’s best for the organization.
Be prepared financially by not presuming on the best-case scenario. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst at work. Create a realistic financial model, as prayerful preparation follows a strategic sequence.
Productivity follows preparation. As the Bible says, “Stand firm then… with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:14a-15).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, in Your strength I will remain diligent to prepare for your blessing.
Application: To what difficult task do I need to remain faithful and finish the work?
Post/Tweet this today: God blesses prayerful preparation to accomplish His purposes. #wisdomhunters #preparation
Worship Resource: 7 minute video- Hillsong: At the Cross
Taken from Boyd’s most popular book a 365 day devotional Seeking Daily the Heart of God. Order today!
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