Preparedness Kit for the Storms of Life

Originally published October 3, 2016

Hurricane PReparedness

Everyone knows that you must be prepared for a hurricane. More than one storm will inevitably come sometime every fall, it’s just how it is.

Most assuredly, no matter where you live, there are natural storms or disasters that you need to be prepared for. There are certain things that you always have ready for when the storm hits. When I lived up north, we carried certain things in the trunk of our car in case of emergency in the deep cold winters.

It’s true for your life too.

You need to have a preparedness kit at hand for whenever the storms come. And they will come. I guarantee it.

John 16:33 says,

“In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.”

However, just because Christ has overcome does not mean we can lay back and not be prepared. Christ HAS overcome the world, but we must take Him along with us.

That daily relationship with Him is the best Preparedness kit you can have.

  • If we aren’t reading His word daily, how will we know His thoughts?
  • How will we recognize His voice, if we aren’t conversing with him on a daily basis?
  • It is hard enough to recognize His voice in calm times.
  • How will we recognize His Voice in the storm, if we aren’t familiar with His voice?

 

Recently, a pastor’s wife, Rhonda Cagle Thorson shared this story that impressed my heart with the importance of staying close enough to God to hear and recognize His voice.

God can speak in some most unusual places. Our family went white water rafting in OKC this weekend. We were given detailed instructions for every possible scenario. The guide sat at the back of the raft. We were to listen to his voice (which was hard in the noise of the water).

Although he was steering the raft, our failure to do what he asked us to do would take us off course and risk an overturned raft. With other rafting guides nearby, it was hard to know if it was our guide giving out commands. We had to listen carefully and become familiar with his voice.

God is guiding us through the rapids of our lives. While he is steering, we have to obey in order for His steering to be of benefit to us. We have to practice listening for his voice above the noise and other voices vying for our attention..

In 2011, my family started down a long road of tribulation which included chronic illness and ultimately job loss.

If it weren’t for our close walk with the Lord, I’m not sure we would have made it. God has walked with us every step of this long journey which we are still on. Just as this scripture indicates, it was only that we were walking daily with Him in the first place that He was then able to walk with us through the storm.

Psalm 119:92-95 Amplified Bible (AMP)

92 If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my time of trouble.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me and given me life.
94 I am Yours, save me [as Your own];
For I have [diligently] sought Your precepts and required them [as my greatest need].
95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will consider Your testimonies.

My Greatest Advice to you is

  1. Set a time and place for study and meditation and then keep it.
  2. Don’t let anything deter you from your quiet time.
  3. Spend more than a few minutes in prayer each day.
  4. Study  His Word diligently.
  5. Practice His presence all day long so that when the storm comes, He is there ready to step in and carry you if needed.
My greatest nugget of advice to anyone, whether a minister or a layman is … Treasure God Above All Else. Click To Tweet

 

You will find that there is really nothing more important.

The world will wait.

And if it doesn’t it won’t make that much difference in the long run.

After all, you can’t bring people to a relationship with Christ if you don’t have one yourself.

Finding Treasure in Him!

Mandy Farmer

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About Mandy Farmer

Pastor's Wife (retired) &  Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.

View all posts by Mandy Farmer

6 Comments on “Preparedness Kit for the Storms of Life”

  1. Spot-on advice, Mandy! That’s one of my favorite verses–hard times should never take us by surprise. Psalm 37 is a great companion to the trouble verse :).

  2. Thanks for dropping by. Your post today was awesome. This one was hard to pull out of my brain/heart. But finally God gave me the right words.

  3. Such a timely reminder with this past week’s hurricane. I am so thankful you and your family are safe. But yes, it’s even more important to keep our hearts prepared in Him, for whatever kind of storm we will face!

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