Prepare and Set

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13

Planning and preparation are two very different things. When I make plans, I am arranging details I know and counting on others to fall in line. It becomes easy to place a measurable amount of trust in a plan. Plans don’t encourage readiness, they promote a sense of security. The planner will say, “I’ve got this.”

Being prepared, however, is knowing that anything could happen. It is taking an athletic stance, leaving your shoes on, keeping your mind engaged. You can sneak up on the person with a plan, but the one who is prepared will be waiting for you. Being prepared assumes you are only responsible for you, not every circumstance. The prepared man is ready for anything that might happen.

Peter calls us to be prepared, not planned. Being prepared is a mind activity. Consider what the opposite of being sober-minded is: drunk-minded. Being drunk means to be full of something. This can be anything from a substance to being drunk with power. In order to be prepared, a man must have one thing on his mind: Jesus Christ. Prepare and set your mind on Christ today. Anticipate and be ready to spiritually engage in any situation, setting your mind on Jesus.

DO THIS TODAY: Write out 1 Peter 1:13 and carry it around as a reminder to prepare and set your mind.