BE READY WHEN YOU GET THERE At age 29 I had been the pastor of a tiny congregation in South Dallas, TX for six years. A huge faith-based event took place in Reunion Arena every year and I typically volunteered there as, essentially, an usher. Right before the event was scheduled to start, the executive director of the conference came to me and told me the main speaker couldn’t make it and that I would take his place. It took a lot of convincing from him to make me believe he wanted me to step onstage in front of 20,000 people in less than an hour. That night I gave every ounce of passion within me, but it wasn’t because I was in front of thousands. It was the same intensity I gave every week to the 20 or 200 people who walked through the doors of my church. Afterward, the director told me that he had seen me preach in Spanish at my church without my knowledge – he didn’t know what I was saying, but he knew what was happening in the room and trusted me with a large moment because of that small one. Remember that Jesus laid out this principle for us: it is the person who is faithful in the small things who will be entrusted with bigger things. So many of us are trying to get “there,” wherever “there” might be, but when we get there, we’re not ready for it. The great tragedy would be to live your life waiting for that moment to come instead of living your life preparing for when that moment comes. What I have seen over a lifetime is that, from our perception, we wonder why God hasn’t given us the opportunities we long for, and from His perception, He wonders why we chose to be unprepared for the opportunities He placed right in front of us. You cannot know every challenge you will face, but you can know who you are when you face that challenge! Are there areas in your life where you feel God has called you to prepare yourself for something larger? How has God rewarded your stewardship of small things with the trust of larger ones?