I love a live performance of any kind. It can be a play, musical, concert, or a symphony orchestra. It is so exciting to be in the audience to experience a live performance. The clapping, cheering, the oohs, and ahhs are part of the added delight beyond the performance. As a part of the audience, we get to see the finished product of many hours of rehearsal. Each of these live performances are not done well unless there have been rehearsals. There will be areas of difficulty in the music or the script that need more practice than other areas. All of this takes a great amount of time for those who are involved. We can learn from these live performances and their preparation because we need to be prepared to live our life from moment to moment. Our hearts and minds need to be prepared. This can only happen with practice. We need to rehearse.

What do we need to rehearse?

1. Our Knowledge of God.

This is very important for us. We need to be able to tell ourselves who God is regardless of what is happening in our lives. It doesn’t make our life perfect but gives us strength to face the hard things. The Word of God is filled with descriptions of God. We need to read with our eyes looking for information about God. Then when we read it, we need to rehearse it in our mind, so that we remember when we are facing life. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7.) The knowledge of God will lead us into wisdom to act.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice.

Here’s the hard part because it takes discipline on our part. We must put into practice believing God is who he says he is. Our tendency is to try and figure things out. We want answers. We want control. This can lead to thinking we know what is going to happen in a situation. The truth is, we don’t know what’s going to happen. This is the very reason we need to have rehearsed who God is so that we can move forward in life as we believe God. Moving forward doesn’t depend on the other person’s response but on our response to who God is. We must rehearse his attributes so that we can practice doing life his way. “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9.)  If we are mindful of who God is, then we will be able to please him in every circumstance.

3. Love.

We need to love well in this crazy life. This does take a great deal of rehearsal in our minds. What are we rehearsing? “… but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8.) The fact that Jesus Christ was willing to die for each of us who are called by his name is something we must never stop rehearsing. It is the love he has shown to us that will drive us to love others well. It is never because they deserve it. I didn’t deserve Christ to die for me. The love of Christ is shown in what he has done. We are to never forget this because it is the reason we can love others.

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15.)

When we rehearse how much we are loved, then this love will control us. We will love well as we reflect the love of Christ.

Rehearsal is necessary for life to go well. It takes time, effort, and discipline. We must read the Word of God, pray regularly, and fellowship with other believers. We must take control of our thoughts in order to rehearse what would be beneficial to us. Here’s what we have to remember: we are performing for those around us. Our performance in life needs to be one in which we point them to the gospel. There is always someone who is watching us. We must never forget that our life is not all about us but about God and others. How much time are you willing to spend in rehearsing today? Remember, rehearsal is necessary!