Preparedness is the first step to success!

Luke 12:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples: "See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!"

Food for Thought!

Jesus has many ways of teaching us. He is the teacher. Today he teaches us the law of life, that Preparedness is the first step to success! Always chance favours the prepared. Opportunity knocks at our doors many more times than we may realize. If the moment of opportunity is not seized, it may be because we don’t recognize it or are unprepared to seize it. For instance, when you get up in the morning, do you greet the day with "Good morning, God!" or "Good God, morning!"?

This is why Jesus tells us to be ready, dressed for action, ready to seize the opportunity when it comes our way. "Be as ready as the house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them."
Far too often many of us do not prepare ourselves for success; many people are just not ready for what they want. Many times we only have wishful thinking for our needs. We forget that if we’re not prepared for success, we may find it difficult to hold on to the opportunities that come our way.
As an exercise, ask yourself from time to time what you are really doing to prepare yourself for opportunity. Have you established and become fully committed to your goals? Are you willing not only to cultivate the soil and plant the seed but also to nurture and care for the tender blade and the young ear as it appears? Are you willing to go the extra mile, and give the energy and attention that the opportunity calls for? Are you willing to stand firm with your convictions, your principles, your faith in God? Are you prepared to stand alone if necessary? Have you trained yourself to recognize opportunity when it knocks?
And you never know when it may knock. Opportunity often presents itself in an unexpected form. As Jesus put it, "It doesn’t matter what time of the night he [opportunity] arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!" Or as Jesus says in Revelation 3:20,

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me."