By Levi Mahemu | BCICHURCH
Everybody wants to enjoy the blessing, but not everybody is willing to prepare for it. We pray for growth, we ask God for open doors, and we believe for a better future. But while we are waiting for the blessing, what are we doing with what is already in our hands?
Progress doesn’t begin only when the big breakthrough arrives. Often, it begins with preparation, faithfulness, and the small decisions we make today. Before you ask God for more, learn to take care of what He has already entrusted to you.
1. Prepare for What You Are Praying For
Genesis 12:1 KJV says, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.”
God gave Abram a direction, but Abram had to respond. The promise called him to move. He could not remain where he was and expect to experience the journey God had set before him.
Sometimes we pray for a new season while holding on to habits that belong to the old one. We want a growing ministry but don’t follow up with visitors. We want a stronger family but don’t make time for one another. We want our finances to improve but don’t manage what comes into our hands.
Faith doesn’t mean sitting still and waiting for everything to change. Faith prepares. If you are praying for growth, begin to build the habits and systems that can sustain it.
Practical step: Write down one thing you are praying for. Then write down one practical action you can take this week to prepare for it.
2. Be Faithful with What You Have
Luke 16:10 KJV says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
Don’t despise what is in your hands because it looks small. You may have one customer, a small congregation, a little money, a few hours, or one opportunity. What matters is how you handle it.
Sometimes we keep asking for more while neglecting what we already have. We want more people, but we don’t care for the people who are already coming. We want more opportunities, but we don’t prepare for the opportunities we have now. We want a bigger responsibility, but we are careless with the responsibility in front of us.
The small things are not a waste of time. They are where character, discipline, and capacity are developed.
Memorable thought: Don’t wait for more before you become faithful. Be faithful with what you have, where you are, right now.
Practical step: Choose one resource you have been neglecting, such as your time, money, gift, relationship, or ministry responsibility. Make a clear plan to manage it better.
3. Stop Comparing Your Beginning with Someone Else’s Progress
Zechariah 4:10 KJV asks, “For who hath despised the day of small things?”
Comparison can make you blind to the progress God is helping you make. You look at another person’s harvest and become frustrated with your seed. You see somebody else’s open door and forget the work required to prepare your own.
It doesn’t matter where you are today as much as it matters where you are going and whether you are taking steps in that direction. One step in the positive is always great.
You don’t have to copy somebody else’s journey. Learn from others, but remain faithful to the work in front of you. Celebrate progress, even when it is small. A small beginning is not a reason to quit. It is a reason to keep building.
Practical step: Instead of comparing yourself with somebody else this week, measure your progress against where you were last month. Identify one thing that has improved and one thing you will work on next.
4. Keep Working While You Wait
Galatians 6:9 KJV says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
There are seasons when you work hard and don’t immediately see the result. You pray, serve, study, build, save, reach people, and keep doing what is right. The temptation is to become tired and abandon the work because the harvest has not yet appeared.
But a delay is not always a denial, and slow progress is still progress. Keep doing what is right. Review your methods when necessary, learn from mistakes, ask for wise counsel, and keep moving.
Waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. Use the waiting season to grow your character, strengthen your skills, and prepare for the responsibility that comes with the blessing.
Practical step: Identify one good habit you have stopped because you didn’t see immediate results. Start again and commit to practising it consistently.
5. Make Room for the Blessing
If you want to progress, make room for growth. That may mean organising your schedule, learning a new skill, improving your communication, becoming more disciplined with money, or putting better systems in place.
For a church, preparation may mean training leaders, welcoming visitors well, following up with new believers, and teaching people how to serve. For a family, it may mean protecting time together and dealing honestly with problems. For your personal life, it may mean returning to prayer, studying the Word, and being more intentional with your decisions.
Don’t only pray, “Lord, bless me.” Also ask, “Lord, prepare me to handle what I am asking You for.”
The goal is not simply to receive a blessing. It is to become faithful enough to steward it well and use it to bless others.
Your Progress Challenge
- Identify: What blessing or opportunity are you believing God for?
- Prepare: What habit, skill, or system do you need to develop?
- Act: What one step can you take today?
- Continue: How will you remain consistent when results take time?
Don’t despise your beginning. Don’t neglect what is in your hands. Prepare, be faithful, and keep moving forward.
A Prayer for Preparation and Progress
Heavenly Father, thank You for every blessing and opportunity You have already placed in my life. Forgive me for the times I have asked for more while neglecting what I have. Give me wisdom to prepare, discipline to act, and patience to remain faithful while I wait. Help me to stop comparing my journey with others and to value the small steps that move me forward. Prepare my heart and my hands to handle the blessings I am asking You for, so that my life can bless others and bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Keep progressing! Read the next message in this series: Progressing the Blessing 3: Stop Counting What’s Missing and Start Moving Toward What’s Promised.
Share this teaching with someone who needs encouragement to prepare for their next season. Connect with Body of Christ International Church (BCICHURCH) for more biblical teaching and practical encouragement.
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