Godly preparation in life is all about our relationship with the Lord and how we use the life the Lord has given us for His glory. Ephesians 4:1Therefore I (Paul), a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.”[1] As believers, we have been given the gift of faith and should not take it for granted. I have always admired great heroes of the Bible, but along the way, they had to give up their will to pursue the greater good of God’s will for their lives.
God transformed Noah’s life as Noah walked with Him. Peter described Noah as righteous, but that did not happen overnight; it was a lifetime of spending time with the Lord. There came a day in Noah’s life when God came to him with a daunting assignment that must have left him shocked as God revealed His plan to destroy all flesh.
While God’s judgment would destroy the wicked, He would save Noah and his family. To accomplish this, the Lord told Noah to make an ark. The ark would take many years to build. It was like a barge, so it was stable and would save Noah and a remnant of the animals.
Noah Began Preparations
The Lord gave Noah instructions for the dimensions of the ark and the animals. Genesis 6:19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.” [2]
In many ways, the ark was like a floating zoo that would need enough food for all creatures for just over one year. Without preparations, the ark would be useless without food. Great thought must have gone into preparing food for all that would enter the ark. In a spiritual sense, we must ask ourselves how to prepare ourselves along our faith journey. Just as planning and work went into gathering food and supplies for the ark, we, too, need to prepare.
Jesus is Our Model for Godly Preparation
As we reflect on the life of Jesus, His entire life was one of preparation for the cross. As a child, he would have studied God’s word, developed skills working for his father, and spent time with His heavenly Father in worship and prayer. Like a soldier preparing for battle, Jesus’ preparation was essential as He traveled to Jerusalem to die for our sins.
He could go to the cross, fulfilling His Father’s will because He had prepared beforehand. Little happens in our lives without successful preparation. The most significant preparation we can do is to place our faith in Jesus as our Savior. The next step is spending time with the Lord in worship, prayer, and His Word to be prepared to fulfill His plans.
To learn more about Godly preparation, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/faith-in-a-faithless-world
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Eph 4:1). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ge 6:19–21). Tyndale House Publishers.