Strategic Preparation

Scripture: Luke 14: 28-32, 16:1-8, Matthew 25:1-13, Proverbs 6: 6-8

The man with a plan is the man with the power. Charles de Gaulle once said, history does not teach fatalism…people get the history that they deserve”. Prepared leaders stand ready to meet the future; they don’t react and are not easily surprised. The word Strategic is taken from the root word strategy, and strategy means planning, in any field: a carefully devised plan. John C. Maxwell said that ‘when we don’t prepare the things we hoped would not happen do happen.’ Preparation is a key step of action to achieve a goal, or the art of developing or carrying out such a plan, the words to note in this definition are CAREFULLY, DEVISED, PLAN, ACHIEVE, GOAL.

Srategic preparation is an operative term. It determines what the outcome of whatever we are doing will be. Carefully, means that it is not tacky or risky. Devised means you take time to get to the point of making that decision. Plan of course tells you that you won’t be confused because you have a predetermined course of action in mind. Achieve tells you that there would be a positive yield from that which you are doing, and finally Goal tells me that you will know when you have achieved, because it will be clear to you when you have apprehended.

 PREPARATION means a state of readiness, the work or planning involved in making something or somebody ready or in putting something together in advance.

 WHAT THEN IS STRATEGIC PREPARATION?

Strategic Preparation is when an individual thoughtfully and carefully puts together a plan to achieve a particular goal and submits his or herself to the process so that he is ready when the responsibility comes upon him.

Preparation is what positions us correctly and it is one major distinguishing factor between winning and losing. The destination is never as important as the preparation. Because getting to the goal or destination is usually not the hard part but staying there. For every kind of appointments that we see made, soon enough if the person does not have what it takes one day the cracks would start to show and reveal the unpreparedness of the individual involved.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF PREPARATION

 1. Every one needs it. No one person who is going somewhere is exempted from preparing.

 2. It is a process. But a process that is more important than the destination. You can’t prepare in a hurry and for every piece of preparation that you go through, you will be tested. It is a process because it is about the person and not the position that he would fill. When you understand that preparation is a process, then you would not really have problems with making mistakes some times because even mistakes are a part of the process.

 3. Preparation comes before opportunity. John C. Maxwell puts it this way; you can claim to be surprised once, after that you are unprepared. To be able to maximally utilise the opportunities that come your way, you have need to be prepared.They say that opportunity once lost can never be regained, while with God we may have a second chance, the truth is that second chances are always second chances. It was Abraham Lincolnthat said, “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” The greatest barrier to success is not a lack of opportunity but a case of being ill-prepared when opportunity arises.

 4. The preparation process is not a fun process at all. It is usually hard and tough, sometimes extremely painful, that is why as a child of God when you are passing through, you have need for grace to hold on because your destiny is hinged on what you agree to pass through by way of preparation. He refines us in the furnace of affliction. As a result the individual has great need for a good perspective, which is a healthy way of looking at the things you may have to go through. Some one said that the greatest perspective is an ability to laugh at yourself when you make mistakes or when it begins to hurt and no longer fun.

 5. Preparation for tomorrow begins with your right use of today. When you know that you want to become a public figure tomorrow, you make sure that today; you do not do questionable things. For instance, last week my bank sent me a text that I was overdrawn to the tune of 4,301 Naira. I was very distressed because I usually do not give cheques that I have no funds to cover, but this particular person presented his cheque two weeks late.The bank gave me grace till 10.00am, the next day to fund the account, and it was my first task for the day. Why was I so  concerned? Because one day some body, when he can’t find anything to use against me, may decide that this one cheque is a good enough weapon.

PREPARATION: BETWEEN GOD AND MAN

God created each and every one of us for a purpose. For that purpose to be manifested and fulfilled we have need for preparation. However, when God waits on us to prepare and we don’t, he swings into action to have us prepared. What this means is that we have a responsibility to prepare ourselves for destiny, but because preparation is very important in itself if we refuse to do what we ought to do, God himself will step in.

HOW TO PREPARE

1. Practice, practice and practice. They say that practice makes perfect. When you know that something is important to the process of your destiny, you stay with it until you have achieved some level of skill in the process. Once you have become skilled in it then you can move to the next level of preparation. Remember that preparation is a process and until you finish step A you cannot move on to step B.

2. Experience. Once you have practiced long enough at a particular thing it becomes like second nature to you and this is referred to as experience. Once you are experienced at a thing, you stand out amongst others, so much so that if they had to pick you will be chosen.

3. Service. In preparation, especially when destiny is involved there is a need to serve with your skill or gift, the simple reason is because sometimes when it matters, people can’t tell what you know from what you don’t. So it pays to look for avenues to display what it is that you have, for others to reckon with it. Volunteer your time. You must learn to sow in your time and talent by way of volunteering.

4. Expand your Mind. Be open to new ideas, be objective, never close your mind to possibilities. You cannot know everything so be willing to learn from others. Make sure that you read at least one book every month.

5. The greatest tool for preparation is adversity and this is God’s preparatory tool for destiny. We usually don’t pick this tool, but without it we cannot get promoted. God refines us in the furnace of affliction and he enlarges us in our places of adversity. We are supposed to submit to it rather than fight it because we understand He is our maker and holds all the aces.

6. Humility. God honours humble people and a vital part of preparation is the ability to be humble. Humility also increases our chances for learning. It is easy to learn from someone you admire, but sometimes we might be forced to humble ourselves and learn from people who we may not exactly be so in love with.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

1. Joseph – He was focused on the big picture which is why he refused Potiphar’s wife’s advances. He recognised that he couldn’t trade his destiny for momentary gain. In the Prison, he gave interpretations for dreams without solicitation, this was volunteering, in the end he got his own.

2. David – When he met King Saul asleep twice, he said that he would not kill the Lord’s anointed. He could have killed him, I mean he had already been anointed as King, but he didn’t. Why? Because his sights were set on greater things.

3. Esther – She submitted to a whole year of preparation just for a day with the King, but in the end it was well worth it.

AFTER PREPARATION,WHAT NEXT?

A man’s gift makes room for him, and even if you have to prepare for 10 years just to showcase for one year, when you finish you will be sure that it is well worth it. For every preparatory investment, you will have your own day and even if it does not come the way you expect, you will at least become a professional in that field.

The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious. Purposeful preparation prevents poor performance.

—Bidemi