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"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
(2 Timothy 4:2)
Summer weather in Germany can be very unpredictable. We have had a very rainy summer, and sudden changes and adjustments are often needed at camp to account for the weather conditions. We had various fun workshops planned for Tuesday at camp, like a Texas Two-Step Workshop from yours truly. However, we had a lot of rain, and many of the other workshops were originally planned to take place outside, so we had to be flexible and change our plans. We had seminars planned for Thursday afternoon, so we swapped this with the workshops to account for the sudden storms.
The seminars are usually of a deeper and more spiritual nature. In the past, I've taught workshops on how to study the Bible, and this year we had options like, "Identity", "Your Role as an Evangelist", "God and Finances", and "A Biblical View of Relationships". A few minutes after the campers selected and headed to the various rooms for these seminars, I got word that the seminar leader for the relationships topic was not there. I called him only to find out that he never got word about the switch of the program plans due to the weather. Since the camp director was busy, I stepped in to troubleshoot. Planning to cancel this seminar and send the campers to other seminar options, I walked into the room to see one of our American volunteers sitting in the back. I told him what happened, and he immediately said, "Well, it's about biblical relationships, right? If someone can translate for me, I can teach!"
Keep in mind, the seminar was set to take place in German. This pastor from Florida doesn't speak any German. He could have taken the afternoon off to rest while the campers were in these seminars like the others. But he said he strongly felt that he was supposed to come to this seminar. If the original presenter had come, he wouldn't have even understood a word. But he was obedient to the Lord to go sit in the seminar anyway. Then when the need arose for someone to step up and teach, he understood why the Lord had prompted him to come. With zero time to prepare, one of our young German volunteers who had never live-translated before jumped up with him, and they led this seminar for over an hour.
I was so encouraged by this man's readiness to teach. He had not officially prepared to lead this seminar. But he had prepared little by little over his whole Christian life as he devoted himself to loving and knowing the Word of God. He started in Genesis and built a foundation on the Imago Dei, that men and women are both made in the image of God. Ephesians, 1 Peter, 1 Corinthians... he kept calling out Bible references that he knew by heart and had our translator read them in German. He was ready, and the Lord moved through Him.
What a powerful example of our Scripture verse for today. After the seminar, I thanked him for stepping up and pouring into these teenage campers' lives. He quoted 2 Timothy 4:2 to me: "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
Maybe you won't be in a situation where you need to jump up at a moment's notice and formally teach for an hour with zero prep time. But you will find yourself in countless opportunities to testify to the Lord, His goodness, and His work in your life... if you look for them. These opportunities could pass you by, or you could instead seize them as an act of worship to the Lord. When you read the Scriptures, remember that you are making a deposit of truth into your heart and mind to be drawn from whenever you or someone else needs it. Be ready. You never know when the opportunity will come!
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