We all have dreamed of going on a great adventure of our own someday, whether that be traveling around the world or just down the road to your favorite hunting or fishing spot! Since I have been able to dream, I have dreamed of going on my own adventure. Then one day I realized I already am on an adventure of a lifetime. The good news for you is; if you’re a Christian then you’re living your own great adventure this very moment! God has plans that far exceed the plans you have for yourself. Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I never imagined a young man from a small town, no one can pronounce correctly, would have a chance to be a blessing to people all across the world. God has chosen to use me to travel from Talala, Oklahoma to Belize on two different missions’ trips up to this point in my life. I would not have been able to go without Gods help. Had I not yielded myself to Gods’ will and sacrificed things that have cost me greatly at times; I would never have accomplished the amazing tasks God has set before me. The most amazing part is He is not done leading me! As I continue to yield myself to His way, He will continue to use me to reach the world far greater than I could have dreamed of doing on my own. During the next several weeks we will be reading a series of articles revealing how I have been living the Greatest Adventure anyone has ever been blessed to take part in. After each story there will be a couple questions to help get you started on your adventure.
Preparing for the Battle Ahead– Someone would have to be completely out of their mind to even think about running a marathon without preparing for it. Long distance runners train several months or even years in advance for a competition. The same is true for professional sports. Professional sports teams do not just show up on game day and play the game. They prepare for the game as far ahead in advance as they possibly can for that specific game.
My favorite example is preparing for hunting trips. A majority of people typically assume that as a hunter I go out, sit in the blind or in my tree stand, and wait for a few minutes possibly hours until the deer or ducks decide to come by. This is partly true. However, what they do not consider is the enormous amount of preparation that goes into one single hunting trip or fishing excursion. Preparing does not start the day before the trip happens for me. It typically starts a month or more beforehand. I take part in finding land to hunt on, scouting trips on land where I have permission, and practicing with or fixing my equipment if needed. As the days near to the actual day of the hunt, more scouting trips are needed to verify that the animals are where I expect them to be. The day before the hunt I usually do a checklist of needed gear and supplies for the next day’s hunt, I gather up all the gear in order to have a quick exit in the morning, and to make sure I am not forgetting anything of importance.
Contrary to my hunting practices, I have often failed to make preparations in my spiritual life. Failure to prepare in my spiritual life leads me into unnecessary frustrations and unneeded heartache in the rest of my life. Transferring the skills of preparation over from my hunting practices I have begun to apply a few steps that have contributed to me becoming greater prepared for the spiritual battles I face on a daily basis. The first step in preparing to have a victorious spiritual life through Christ is realizing a battle is constantly being fought for our souls. When we realize a battle is being waged for our soul then we can begin the process of preparing for the battles. All of us face different battles but the Bible has strategies and promises on how to become victorious in our daily battles.
The next step in preparing is discovering what The Word of God says about a particular situation and what it promises to us in that situation. This is done by getting into the Word daily. By disciplining ourselves to read God’s Word daily we not only gain more discipline we also gain a greater understanding of our Creator and the love He has for us as His Children. Another way to prepare and experience God along with all the incredible love He has for us is through prayer. Prayer is our communication with our Heavenly Father. Through prayer we are able to ask for forgiveness and daily needs. We are also able to hear from God, when we are willing to be silent and allow him to speak into our lives.
The last step in preparing for spiritual warfare, I will mention, is speaking Gods Word aloud to our daily battles. After spending time in the Bible learning the promises of God we need to speak to our problems just as Jesus spoke to the problems brought to him. The Bible promises difficult times for all of Christ’s followers and warns us to prepare for the coming battles. Preparation in our spiritual lives gives us a major advantage in being able to overcome temptations and conquering our failures and sins. In order to get a great starting point in our daily lives, we have to prepare for it beforehand.
How have you prepared?
What are some steps that will better prepare you for the adventure to come?