The Nightmare of Being Unprepared

They were utterly astonished, saying, "He has done all things well…” – Mark 7:37

nightmare - night⋅mare [nahyt-mair] - n. a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

There are a few dreams that I have had sporadically throughout the years – some beautiful dreams; others terrifying nightmares. One dream, however, scares me more than any other.

The dream begins on a happy note: I’m enrolled in some college, along with many of my closest friends I met in high school. As I check my schedule, I head to the different classes across campus. Each time I arrive, laughter escapes my lips; these classes are too easy. I check off each class with a grin, knowing that I’m going to knock them out of the water. I laugh when my friends say they’re going to have to study extra hard, for I know this semester is going to be easier than falling asleep during a long-winded preacher’s sermon about prosperity being only about money.

Then, the last class shows up – some advance form of mathematics.

All through elementary, high school, and college, math has been the most difficult subject for me. When math makes perfect sense to me, I make perfect scores. The moment it goes just beyond my realm of understanding, I fail…and fail miserably. Throughout my college career, I have taken calculus three times. Each time, I’ve failed. Hard. I guess if you’re going to do something, go hard with it – even if it’s failing.

Back in the dream, I walk away from the class nervously, fighting to keep my lunch in my stomach. I chalk it up to a class that I’ll have to work extra hard for.

As the semester progresses, I receive A+ after A+ in my classes, and I’m not even studying. I brag to my friends on how easy this is as I tutor them, and I enjoy sleeping late and staying out all night. At the end of the semester, I receive emails about how I don’t have to take the final in so many of my classes because I’ve done so well throughout the year. I laugh again.

As I walk out of the library, I stop cold in my tracks. One word kicks me in the throat.

Math.

I was so busy rejoicing over the areas I was excelling in that I forgot about the class I was helpless in. I run across campus, arriving just in time to have 10 minutes left to take a 2 hour final. I stare at the paper, feeling as if I’m reading Russian transcribed through short hand of Pig Latin. Not only is the test tough because I don’t understand the math, it’s extremely tough because I never remembered to go to the class. I was totally unprepared. The successes of my other classes are all for naught, because if I don’t pass this one class, I can’t go to the next level.

The nightmare of being unprepared.

To you, a nightmare may be a demon fighting you, a murderer chasing you, or a loved one leaving you. To me, a nightmare is being found helpless in an area that God tried to prepare me. I was given all the time and tools needed to excel in math in my dream. My other class were easy to me because God knew I needed more time for math. Yet, I partied and slept when I should have prayed and studied. When time finally ran out, I faced a test that I could never pass – and it was my fault.

Jesus was the exact opposite. If it were possible for Christ to be able to do one thing better than other things, you could never tell. If it were possible for one thing to be more difficult than others, you could never tell. Mark records that people’s hearts skipped a beat staring at Jesus. He did all things well.

All things.

Well.

Christ was perfect – not just in a sense of no flaws, but in the sense that He was completely complete. He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). He grew mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. The enemy’s attacks were useless, because Jesus had every gate guarded. If you tried to stump Him with a question, He’d answer your question with a question so deep that your grandmother’s head would hurt. If you tried to lie on Him, the truth of God would shine so brightly in Him that it would blind the eyes of the haters. If you tried to kill Him, He would beat the Hell out of death and show the world why He was the Epitome of Perfection.

Jesus was always prepared because He was God. He was God because He was always prepared. He still is. Nothing can arrive in your life that He didn’t already know about. He uses recessions to teach you to be a better steward, job losses to catapult you into purpose, and liars to birth grace from your lips. It’s never God that doesn’t know what’s going on.

It’s us.

And the only reason you’ll be caught slipping on a test if you were slipping in your faith walk. Scar from the Lion King said it best – Be Prepared.