Preparation Seasons

The preparation phase of anything is the most patient testing, chaotic, and overwhelming part of any plan. The most common thing we do in preparation phases/seasons is long to leave. We long to jump into the action part. I was convicted recently of getting placed into a season I've been praying for, yet instantly longing to be in the next season. How often do we do this in life? We just get into a new season and we are already complaining and longing for the next step. The Lord reminded me that maybe... He just wants me to sit in, breathe, and rest in the season I just stepped into. I realized, I'm in a preparation season. And my first thought? Rush it. Let's get started with the action steps. But if we rush the preparation seasons, we won't have a Firm Foundation or solid start for the next phases. Think of a house. If you rush the laying of the foundation, or the outline of the house, things will be messed up. The concrete may not rest properly, the structure may not be the sturdiest it can be.

Culture drives us. The enemy drives us. Telling us we need to be in this season or that season. We need to be dating, engaged, married at this age. We need to have this job or that job. We need kids now. Our kids need to be in this season. We need, we need, we need. What an exhausting demand. For nothing to ever be enough and always feeling like we need more than what we have. We need to be more than where we are. But what if... we sat in and with the preparation? Really listened and watched what God is doing in and through us. When we are in it, we view the preparation seasons as annoying, inconvenient, and a waste of time. But it is in the preparation that strengthens us for the valleys and hills of tomorrow. How gracious of God to take time to prepare us, even if we don't see it that way. I can look back on this year in moments of preparation that I didn't see as preparation. I saw as difficult and frustrating, but the Lord is faithful. He saw the stones He was laying that would uphold me in the battles that would come. Don't let culture or the enemy drive you out of preparation seasons. Rather, let the Lord lead you through it. He will walk it out with you in the midst of pressure. Because He knows that the preparation season you're in is necessary for what is to come. He's growing perseverance, grit, and character in you. It's never in vain. Just wait. Culture's drive versus the Lord's leading looks vastly different.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

-Psalm 23

The Lord's preparation looks like rest, walking through dark valleys, sitting in the presence of our enemies, being anointed and overflowing, dwelling in His house. In a culture that pushes action, maybe the Lord is telling you to rest, prepare. Quality action cannot happen without solid and devoted preparation.

What does devoted preparation look like? Devoted preparation looks like being all in. Not all in during the action phase, all in during what seems like the ordinary and mundane. It looks like being all in and fully present with where God has you now so you are ready for the time to come when God says to move. It's trusting God for and with the future. It's having faith that the preparation takes root for the future action. What would it look like if we were as devoted in the preparation as in the action? I think it wouldn't only affect us, but it would be a ripple effect to all the people around us. While we wait for His "go" or "move," let's rest in His "stay" and "not yet." We can still work in the preparation, it will just look a different than the action. Just like a racecar before a race. The driver sits at the starting line and revs their engine. This prepares the car for the race ahead and helps them get a better launch off the start. Maybe you're sitting there for that flag to fly telling you to go. You're anticipating what's ahead. The Lord's keeping you at start for just a little longer. Trust His timing. Trust the preparation timeframe. He knows what He's building, He understands the strength of the foundation that's needed. So while or when you're in the preparation phase, use His Word and time with Him to equip you with the armor needed for the battles of tomorrow.