Sunday, March 20

Preparedness

Disasters. They seem to be everywhere. Our hearts are heavy with sadness for our fellow humankind. Those suffering. In Japan, Haiti, Chile, even in our own country and others spanning the entire globe. Eyes fill with hot tears as we watch the news. Earthquakes, super storms, fires, floods. Layoffs, homelessness, empty tummies, suicide. Lost and hurt children, corrupt leaders, hateful violence.

So we lace up our boots and get ready. Prepare ourselves and our family for the impending disaster poised to strike at any moment. We search and search fervently for signs, clues any expert's opinion to give us a slight nod towards when and where, even what, we are preparing for. Our attics, basements, garages become filled with canned goods, water, batteries, flashlights, blankets and other survival needs.

And then we wait. Our fingernails chewed down to the flesh in nervous anticipation.

Lately this subject of disaster preparedness has consumed a huge majority of the conversations I find myself involved in. Some people I talk to are incredibly prepared, and amazingly, still diligently working on lists of further preparations. Some people are not prepared at all, but deeply troubled at the thought. Some seem they could care less.

Just a few days ago I was talking with a few people about this very subject and suddenly felt so very burdened. I was not burdened that my food storage was not up to par or that my documents hadn't been backed up on disc and placed in my fireproof safe. I was burdened for people. Christ kept laying the same thing on my heart, over and over, pleading with me to share. So here I am, sharing.

If you step back and look around, and quietly watch and listen, you will see people all around you, scrambling.
They are nervous.
They are anxious.
They are fearful.

We are desperately trying to prepare ourselves and our families for survival of physical disasters.
But what about our souls?
Are we ready spiritually?
Have we been as fervent with our soul preparedness as our physical?
Have we made lists of things we can do and read to align our hearts and minds with His?
Have we talked with our children enough, given them the love and guidance from above to prepare their souls?
Have we shared with our friends and family who may not be prepared for what is to come?
Are their souls as heavy on our hearts as their physical survival of a natural disaster?
What about a spiritual disaster?

It makes me think of Job. I'm sure he had no idea of Satan's plan to come in and sabotage his relationship with Jesus. I'm sure when he was put through countless trials and tests it was nothing short of a disaster. But he was ready. He had spent the time and done the work to prepare his soul.

How incredibly sad that so many people are running around, frantic, waiting for the next big one, fearful of what tomorrow holds.

"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 
2 Timothy 1:7

God has given us hope and faith and the power to overcome the numerous trials and disasters that will come our way. We are His very precious children and He WILL take care of us. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that He has plans for us that are GOOD! When we are faced with a scary tomorrow and we find ourselves anxious and fearful, it is not of God. Fear comes from doubt, and doubt is one of the enemy's strongest tools. We must remain steadfast and confident in God's promises. After all, he looks after the tiny sparrow, can He not look after us, His own children?

My favorite Bible verse is Exodus 14:14. It says "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still."

How comforting! 
All we need to do is be still and know that He is God and He is in control.
He loves us.
He has GOOD plans for us.
He gives us a spirit of love, power and peace.
He is here, waiting for us to trust Him.

So my heart does break for those that are hurting and suffering. And I do think it is wise to be prepared for natural disasters. However, I believe that it is more urgent and more important to prepare our souls. And to share His love and Word with the souls around us. If we have more assurance, knowing what would happen to us and our loved ones if we were to die in the next "big one," perhaps we'd be less anxious, less fearful. We would not fear death, because we would know that Christ has already triumphed over death and it does not mean the end of life, but rather the beginning of eternity. And we'd still have our fingernails. ; )

3 comments:

  1. beautiful! well said my friend! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. so so comforting! you have such a way with words!

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  3. Great post! you're writing is right up my alley. I love reading. And thank you for the encouragement. I need to do more with my kiddos.

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