You are prepared for this season.

Preparation: the action or process of making ready or being made ready

Is there ever a season in life that we truly feel ready and prepared? Most of us arrive at situations or circumstances of our lives and wonder how did we ever end up here or how will we ever survive this?

How can the answer to my prayers be found in the valley of the shadow of death?

More often than not we feel unprepared and the weight of the current vision of life leaves us feeling unheard, unworthy, and with a long list of other unanswered questions that leave us frozen under the burden of what now.

The enemy wants nothing more than to cloud our vision, fill our minds with confusion and despair, and leave us questioning if we know Jesus at all. He wants nothing more than for our hearts to be filled doubting the love of our Father. He will do anything and everything to delay the promises of God on our lives. This often takes place in the soil of our hearts that are looking to the swirling around us instead of at the face of God Himself.

So what does the process of preparation look like? How does God prepare us? Feeling prepared and ready for what's next probably does not look like you think it does.

Let's dive into 1 Kings 17:8-16 - The Widow of Zarephath

"Then the word of the LORD came to him, 'Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.' So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, 'Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.' And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, 'Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.' And she said, 'As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.' And Elijah said to her, 'Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ' The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.' And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah."

This widow was hopeless. She was looking at her situation in the natural. She knew she had one last opportunity to feed her and her son and then she was preparing to die. She was overwhelmed by what was right in front of her when Elijah showed up and asked her to use the little she had in her hands to feed him. Whether you can currently relate to the widow or if you've related to her in the past you can probably imagine the deep grief of feeling unprepared in a season of extreme pain and overwhelm. I can imagine the widow thinking through the lens of her current disappointment wondering how much worse could things possibly get. Yet, the woman must have known that her obedience to God was in feeding this man in front of her. So in obedience she believed by faith the word of the Lord and she used what she had in her hands to feed Elijah, her son, and herself and she saw the blessing of the Lord in that moment on her life as she walked in the miracle of God's provision everyday from that moment forward.

We can look at this story and see that God provided physically through what the widow already had in her hands. We see over and over in the Bible that God multiplies. We can also look at this story and see that it wasn't necessarily what the widow had in her hands that brought the breakthrough, but it was actually what was in her heart. This passage of scripture tells us that the Lord had commanded the widow to feed Elijah. It tells us that by faith and obedience she listened to the word of the Lord and then acted to see what was in the natural become supernatural. This widow knew the voice of the Lord and she was bold enough even in her lack to move forward by faith because she trusted in Him.

The widow was prepared because she had history with God. This section of scripture is small, but as Christians we don't typically just act by faith when we're not deeply rooted in the secret place. It not only takes history with God to know that you know that you know His voice, but it also takes a great amount of trust to be able to walk by faith and step out in obedience when everything around you looks like it is crashing down.

So how does God prepare us for the next season? He teaches us His voice. He shows us His heart. He pours out grace and mercy on us that we could never earn or deserve. He prunes us, disciplines us, refines us by fire, and He brings us to this place of surrender where we live our lives as a living sacrifice. It's in the secret place, our time alone with Him, where He fills us with everything we need so that we can move forward by faith to partner with every word He speaks.

For years during my time with Jesus when it was just me and Him alone I would grab an instrument and turn on my phone to record and just worship. Those voice memos that I've collected throughout the years are now the very things that lead me in worship during this season where I haven't had the strength to communicate anything more than tears. I have journals filled with page after page of prayers, prophetic words, promises, complaints, cries of my heart, and lamentations that are the very things that remind me of God's faithfulness and give me strength to stand on His promises and the hope He's given me when everything around me looks absolutely hopeless. I have two published books that I wrote out of obedience in past years and they are both for me more than anyone else. They are the words from seasons past that are everything I'm walking through now that I can't seem to find the words to express. They are everything my heart needs to remember today that God prepared in my heart last season.

The provision in our live is always Him. You can listen to all the sermons and podcasts. You can ask for all the advice. You can search for all the band-aid fixes. Yet, it is your history with God that prepares you with everything you need for today. There will be seasons in your life where you feel unprepared. Maybe you're even feeling like the widow today and you're preparing your last meal. If that's you today I want to encourage you to look back. Remember your history with the Father. Read the Bible. Look to seasons past and remember His faithfulness to you. Allow your history with God to lead you back to His feet. Allow that story of faithfulness and redemption from last season to lead you in worship today in this moment where you feel anything but prepared. Listen for God's voice and then walk in obedience. As you trust Him once more with a heart fully surrendered you will see the evidence of His goodness once again. You will see Him multiply what is in your hands. You'll see the provision today that you didn't see yesterday. You'll find rest for your weary soul. He will sustain you in this season because of who He is and you will walk confidently knowing that He who promised is faithful because you will be prepared simply because you know Him and because He is all you need.

You are prepared for this season because you have Jesus. You will see the miracles. You will see the breakthroughs. You will see the multiplication. You will see the faithfulness of God. Rest in Jesus. He is making a way where there seems to be no way.

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. -Hebrews 10:23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. -Psalm 23

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