Mensa Otabil - Prepare for the Assignment

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Joshua 1:10–11, Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, «Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.'» It’s a very exciting moment in the life of Israel, and Joshua takes over leadership. He’s a man of action; he’s a military man. He’s focused; he knows what he wants. He’s been to the promised land before, and he’s ready. He’s been ready for the last 40 years for this job, and what Moses couldn’t do, Joshua is about to do in three days. It’s amazing that sometimes God can raise somebody who can do in a short time what everybody has struggled with for a very, very long time.

So, after 40 years in the wilderness and 430 years in Egypt, the wait is over. It’s time to get to the promised land, and Joshua commands the people to get ready for action. But he tells them to prepare, which is very important because every major endeavor that God takes us on requires preparation. We need to prepare for the assignments that God has for us. We don’t just rush into it, as eager as Joshua is, and as eager as Israel is; they had to prepare. For everything that we do, we have to prepare. We prepare on three levels: we prepare spiritually, and as Christians, we dedicate our hearts to the Lord. We set our hearts in agreement with the Word of God. We allow the Word of God to dwell in us fully. We spend time waiting on the Lord and waiting on the Holy Spirit. We spend time to hear from God. This is all part of spiritual preparation because you don’t do that when you are in battle; you do that before you get into the battle so that at the battleground, you can put into practice all that you have prepared yourself for.

So, we prepare ourselves spiritually, but we also prepare mentally. Understand the nature of the challenge before you because, many times, the struggle we have is not even at the spiritual level; it’s at a mental level, where all kinds of doubts assail our minds, or there is ignorance. We don’t know clearly what we want to do; we lack a clear sense, we don’t have a clear picture. Sometimes, Christians rush into things because they believe spiritually they’re ready, but mentally they are not. They don’t fully understand the implications of all the things that they are getting into. When you’re spiritually ready but mentally not ready, you’re going to have to deal with some serious issues, mainly with your lack of understanding, ignorance, and all of that. So, mentally prepare. If God has given you an assignment, read up on it, study it, and have a full scope of it so your spirit is ready, your mind is ready.

Then the third preparation is material preparation. Joshua said to the people, «Prepare provisions,» and provisions mean weapons of war; it also means food items because you’re going into this land. You don’t know how much there will be; you don’t know whether there will be food. Get your tents ready; get everything ready. Remember, they’ve been on this side of the Jordan for about 40 years. They’ve pitched camp there for a very long time, and so they have roots in this place. Now, they have to remove their tents, take out their cooking pots, and get everything ready, including provisions of food. Material preparation for the job: prepare spiritually, prepare mentally, prepare materially. The task ahead is great; you’re going to win it, but you have to prepare in your spirit, mind, and with your materials.

Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I am ready to do what you have called me to do. Help me to prepare for your assignment. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»