Pressed flower art by mingogardens The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8
The area I live in, the northlands of Minnesota, was hit hard by flood waters this
past week. Though there is a river
running through my town of Cloquet,
we did not suffer as much because we are on high ground. However, Duluth and many smaller towns around took a
beating as 8 to 10 inches of rain pounded in a mere 24 hours. Roads were washed away, basements were
flooded, dried up creeks became rushing rivers, rivers no longer had discernible banks and people lost homes.
We do realize that with all this property damage we were blessed not to
have any loss of life.
For some of you reading this, you have experienced similar
floods and hurricanes and probably some much worst than ours but you have been
prepared as to what to do when it happens.
Our area emergency preparedness teams have numerous contingency plans
for all sorts of disasters but not for floods.
The flooding exceeded all records imaginable for this area. If it had been a snow of several feet, it
would have been just a blimp in our radar… but rain took us by surprise.
It makes you wonder… what are we prepared for as
Christians? Do you have contingency
plans for whatever comes along?
What will shake your faith?
Is it losing everything you own, a death in the family or possibly did
you have faith in a pastor that went bad?
Were there Christians in your life who did not treat you as a Christian should? I had that happen once when I was struggling
to understand what faith and God meant to me. It kept me from attending church
for years. But if I had my emergency
preparedness plan in place that could have just been a blip on my radar. Instead it was a major set back.
 |
| Ocean wave by PastelPond |
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6
We need to be thoughtful about our faith. Not allowing ourselves to be tossed by the
wind. I probably have not put my plan
into the terms of “emergency preparedness” but certainly I have been very
purposeful of deepening my knowledge of the Lord and my relationship with Him.
I want it to be just like the fire drills we all have been through, so
ingrained in me that I know what to do without thinking.
How to have an emergency preparedness plan in place? (These are in no particular order.)
- Read God’s Word daily. Even if it is only one verse. Once you develop the habit it will stay with you always. I am totally unsettled if I go to bed without reading the Bible.
- Seek out a Biblical church that can feed you in the knowledge of the Lord, do not choose it just to make you feel good.
- Become involved in Bible studies or other groups that help you grow in the Lord.
- Learn to depend on God’s Word not on people.
- Question what you are being taught. Check out the verses in context and see if that is how God meant them to be.
- Be involved. Where, how? Just try various things. I tried children’s ministry at one time and it drained me as did cooking for others in need but when I started teaching adults I was energized!
- Probably the most important of all… remember God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Take time on a regular basis (maybe at night in bed or while journaling) to remember the things God has done for you. Never let that leave you so that when the crisis in life hit, when you feel depressed or forsaken... review them. This is what I do.
 |
| angelasheartwork |
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5
(Note that the word “wait” in this
context meant to expectantly hope)
11:22 PM |
Category:
angelasartwork,
bible,
Duluth,
emergency preparedness,
flood,
Isaiah,
James,
mingogardens,
pastelpond,
pfdoriginalartworks,
Phyllis Ducey,
psalm 130:5
|
16
comments
Comments (16)
Thanks Phyllis! Good points for us all.
Thank you Phyllis. :)
What a privilege to be included in this thoughtful blog post. As our pastor told us this morning--as Christians, we can have PEACE because our God never ever changes--He is always calm...at peace...and He always will be. He alone is our Rock & Fortress to run to and our Strong Tower in any trial. Yes, "The Word of our God shall stand forever." He is my Hope.
Thank you for including my pressed flower piece. May the Lord bless you today--no matter the weather.
Cherry Rosin, Mingo Gardens
Very thoughtful post -- Things I need to work on.
I'm glad you are safe from the flooding and have been able to use lessons from it to encourage us.
It is so true that being unprepared in our Spiritual Walk leaves us open to disaster.
Thanks, Phyllis.
Wonderful points and reminders. Thank you for posting. Having a spiritual emergency preparedness plan is always a good idea.
What a wonderful analogy. And I agree with your suggestions for putting this into place. thanks Phyliss.
Thanks for posting some great keys in helping us with our spiritual preparedness, Good ideas to help us "be steadfast, unmoveable..." So happy you have included my ocean wave print here! God bless you! Cathy
Learn to depend on God’s Word not on people.
This is a big one for me. Thank you for putting this in perspective for me.
♥♥♥
Sue
It's good to "see" you today, Phyllis. You always bring nutritious food to us to encourage, mature, comfort and bless.......
Oh, and how He answers our prayers when we wait upon Him! His answers are so much more and so very different than what we expect.... A marvelous God with marvelous ways! Loved your article. It was inspirational and reminds us to have our "emergency plans" in heart and soul. Blessings!
This is very good and very true. Thank you for sharing from your heart.
Thanks Phyllis. Emergency preparedness is a good way to explain this.
One of the truest and most relevant posts I've read in too long. Thank you for being a vessel and allowing the Lord to use you in this way to remind us of these vital truths... Great advice, too!
If He did it before, why wouldn't He do it again?
Amen. :)
Wonderful reading! I needed your words of encouragement today. Thank you.
I needed to read this...thank you