I once wrote about the complete hysterectomy I had last year that didn’t happen on the expected time but rather two months after. And in that column I called the botched operation a “dress rehearsal” for the real one.
I want to talk more about other dress rehearsals that we can do in our daily life.
When your in-laws are coming for lunch and you have to cook the meals, have a friend taste first the food you will be preparing so you can be sure this will be good for eating
When you have a key duplicated, you first try using it so you can be sure it really works.
When shopping for shoes, you walk around first with the pair you’ve chosen before buying.
When a company posts a job vacancy, it would first screen and test applicants before hiring.
When buying a bed, a friend told me he would lay down on it to test for comfort and not just look at it or touch it.
Trying things out, testing them, experiencing them first are all dress rehearsals for the real thing before the final decision is made. It’s exactly why it’s called that “dress rehearsal”. Before a stage play is watched by the public, the artists go through a final dress rehearsal to see the final costumes, blockings, acting and even the lights and sounds testing. When everything is set and ready during the dress rehearsal, it is expected that it’s good for show time!
In 1Chronicles 11, King David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.
When Solomon succeeded as king, he was able to build the temple of God without hitch because the materials have all been procured and readied by his father. King David did a dress rehearsal for Solomon.
David Brooks, in his book The Social Animal wrote about a study which involved 157 randomly selected children who had chosen to play a musical instrument. Gary McPherson, who conducted the study, wanted to know why some students became good musicians over the rest. He believed there was one factor. Even before the kids picked up their instruments, McPherson asked: “How long do you think you will play?” The students who planned to play for a short while did not become very proficient. The students who planned to practice and play their whole lives became very good musicians. Practices are dress rehearsals. It will prepare us for the best to come!
If we have been asking God for solutions to our problems or if we have not yet experienced the prosperity we have long desired to have, just think that all these waiting and suffering are dress rehearsals before the good time will come.
God always wants us to have a future full of hope. He said in Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you…. plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Amen.
So He wants to make sure we are ready to be good stewards of the blessings He wants us to enjoy or if we are mature enough for the answers to our requests.
When we have gone through a rough dress rehearsal yet come out of it ready and strong, only then could we soar in our faith and experience in having a lifelong commitment to deepen our relationship with Jesus and follow Him.
It would take every ounce of effort and hard work, along with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, to go through a rehearsal of sorts to cultivate moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. When we have cultivated these character traits throughout our lives, we would become more like Jesus. Then the floodgates of heaven will open and God will pour down the blessings we have long been waiting for.
So, let’s persevere in our rehearsals here on earth. The real show we are preparing for is HEAVEN! And what a grand celebration it will be when we get there.