Please read Luke 3:2-6 "...the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordon, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins: As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
In my office at work I have a quote hanging on my bulletin board that says, "The will to succeed means nothing without the will to prepare." The quote is full of meaning for me. We all aspire to become or to accomplish things in life. But all too often, when the realities of the necessary preparation hit, we falter and give up. I see it happen over and over and at all stages of life. It is easy to have the initial will and aspiration to succeed...but it is quite another matter to have the will that continues to pay the "dues" of preparation. If, when one seeks to master a musical instrument, a certain sport or scholarship of a particular field of study, etc., and "short-cuts" are taken in the preparation process, the end result will reflect short-comings in character, ability, beauty, knowledge and understanding. In the end the "achievement" can be a hollow one or, at best, a shallow one...simply because we didn't really pay the "dues" of preparation.
In my office at work I have a quote hanging on my bulletin board that says, "The will to succeed means nothing without the will to prepare." The quote is full of meaning for me. We all aspire to become or to accomplish things in life. But all too often, when the realities of the necessary preparation hit, we falter and give up. I see it happen over and over and at all stages of life. It is easy to have the initial will and aspiration to succeed...but it is quite another matter to have the will that continues to pay the "dues" of preparation. If, when one seeks to master a musical instrument, a certain sport or scholarship of a particular field of study, etc., and "short-cuts" are taken in the preparation process, the end result will reflect short-comings in character, ability, beauty, knowledge and understanding. In the end the "achievement" can be a hollow one or, at best, a shallow one...simply because we didn't really pay the "dues" of preparation.