14-A-Step-Of-Faith-Preparing-For-The-Expected

The speaker shares a story about a friend who was unprepared for the birth of his child and emphasizes the importance of preparing for what we expect. They encourage listeners to know what they want, prepare themselves and their environment, gather necessary resources, save money, and communicate their expectations. They mention that relying solely on prayer and faith is not enough, and that we must put in effort and work towards our goals. They refer to a biblical story about digging ditches to illustrate the importance of taking action and not being discouraged by negative circumstances. The speaker concludes by urging listeners to start preparing intensively and praying for success. They provide contact information for further resources. Hello and welcome to join this chariot for a 5 minute Bible study. This 14th episode on A Step of Faith is titled Preparing for the Expected. My name is Greg Alabi and I am inviting you to come let us study the Bible together. Some years ago, a close family friend returned from the office where he worked and found his pregnant wife in labor. He quickly rushed her to the hospital to deliver the baby. A few of us followed to support them. Upon arrival, the nurse in the hospital asked the husband, our friend, for some items that the wife and the baby would need during and after delivery. Our dear friend, the husband, said he was not prepared and did not expect the baby to be born on that day because the expected date of delivery was still over a week away. Right before everyone present, the nurse replied and told the husband, our friend, this baby gave you 9 whole months notice and you still say you are not prepared? That day I learned a very important lesson from that experience. To prepare ahead for whatever we are expecting, before you take a step of faith, know exactly what you want, then start preparing yourself, prepare your team of people, prepare the environment to receive it, put together what you need to use, equip yourself, read books, ask questions, get the tools that you need, save up some money, adjust your budget, let people around you know, make the time for it, do not continue your life as if you are not expectant. Remember the motto or the philosophy of the Boy Scouts, be prepared. Never leave things to fate, some reasons why some people will not be fully prepared may include things like the impression they still have enough time, dependency on other people to help them out, lack of adequate planning, belief or do I say the assumption that everything is in God's hand, a young man failed a job interview, his response to failure, after all I still have a good job and I am from a wealthy family. He was not attempting to succeed, he was only attempting something new, if it works out fine, otherwise, he still has a good job and a family to fall back to. Dear friends, that attitude does not help in committing ourselves into taking a step of faith. Now let's learn some valuable lessons in preparation or to prepare us for whatever we are expecting as we take a step of faith. Kings chapter 3, there was a bloody battle going on and in verse 9 there was no water for anybody anywhere to drink. The prophet Elisha told the king in verse 16, make this valley full of ditches, the good news translation says, dig ditches all over this dry stream bed. The lesson, do not only pray and fast, put in valuable effort to prepare for whatever you are expecting. Right down there in that valley where life has put you, get to work, even if everywhere looks dry, no water, start digging. Do not fold your hands and expect charity from anywhere. Second lesson verse 17, thus says the Lord, you may not see wind nor rain, yet the valley shall be filled with water. You and your livestock will have water to drink. The lesson, God will do his part, despite the discouragement that we see around. But God will not come down to dig your well for you. Do not let the negative situation you see around to discourage you. Verse 18, it says in the good news translation, it is an easy thing for the Lord to do. The lesson, if we play our part, the rest is easy. Fourth lesson is in verse 20, next morning, water like a flowing river started flowing from Edom, the enemy territory, into the valley that was dry. It filled every ditch that they dug. The lesson, Isaiah chapter 61 verse 6 says, ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles. God is able to do wealth redistribution, wealth redistribution, only if we take the step of faith to prepare ourselves and position ourselves, let's put in the effort to deliberately and consensuously prepare for whatever we are expecting. If you currently find yourself down in the dry valley, dig in anticipation for overflow. Those ditches will constitute your reservoir for your future. In conclusion, next step, start preparing intensively, fully committed in your preparation. Let us pray. Father, thank you for the lessons we've learned. Bless our efforts in Jesus name. Amen. You may request for subsequent copies by sending an email to gregalabee at gbill.com. I invite you to visit our website gregalabee.com. Look for the podcasts. God bless you.