Are You Prepared?

Reading from the Book of John 14:1-3

John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

This scripture has been used and can be quoted by nearly every believer and we find great comfort in it, but I sometimes wonder if we have relegated this text to a text that only belongs to our future instead of appropriating its meaning into our present.

This text is all about preparation. First, the cure of a troubled heart is found in faith in God. Many in this day battle a troubled heart. In these unstable times it’s easy to give way to a troubled heart. We see the problems with the governments of the world crumbling, our financial systems in more trouble than we can pay our way out of, our educational systems no longer holding to the values of competitive lead, and many of the signs of the last days being unfolded before our eyes each night on national news. Fear can most assuredly take hold of our heart and lead us into a radical mindset of our own strength to make our way clear and straight.  

This scripture teaches us that the first step in our preparation is to believe in God. Believe in His strength, power, authority, and deliverance for our own life. If we trust the power of God and realize His power, the fears and worries we most often face will be gone, understanding that God is in control and will take care of us according to His great will for us.

Second, our future is in the hand and care of our Lord. He said, in my Father’s house are many mansions. There is a place prepared for us after this life is over that the Father has in store for us. The way you deal with your past is to appropriate your future into your present and that will destroy your past. For the Child of God this is our hope and our rejoicing. To the one who is outside of faith in Christ they cannot and do not have the hope of a glorious future, but to walk into faith in Christ gives us the hope of the future that the Father has prepared for us. He also said, “if I go, I will come again.”  This is a glorious promise for those who have trusted Him. He is coming again to take us to where He is. There is nothing that can hinder your joy if this truth is established in your heart.

Third, our present has been prepared by the Lord as much as our future has. Often we miss this truth that is in the text. Remember, He said in my Father’s house are many mansions. He isn’t preparing a home in heaven. Our home in heaven was already there when He spoke this to the disciples. So then what is he preparing? He went to the Fathers right hand to make intercession for us. His first order of business after He presented His blood as the sacrifice for sin was to pray to the Father for the giving of the Holy Spirit. The rest of this chapter teaches us that the preparation of the Lord for us is in the person of the Holy Spirit.  

The greatest preparation known to the world was the preparation of the Lord Jesus for and to us. Everything that God has ever done or will do has been a move of preparation. Therefore, we can conclude that God prepares for a prepared people. God prepares to make us a prepared people. God and God alone can make the preparation needed for you to be victorious in these last days.