20 My child, listen carefully to everything I say.
21 Don’t forget a single word, but think about it all.
22 Knowing these teachings will mean true life and good health for you.
23 Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.
24 Never tell lies or be deceitful in what you say.
25 Keep looking straight ahead, without turning aside.
26 Know where you are headed, and you will stay on solid ground.
27 Don’t make a mistake by turning to the right or the left.       Proverbs 4:20-27 (CEV)
There’s a tropical storm headed my way. For most of us who live along the coast we know to make sure that we have food for the next 3-4 days that doesn’t necessarily require cooking and low lying areas will have some flooding. So we “batten down the hatches†and watch the wind and rain blow.
Wouldn’t it be great to know when a storm is coming in my life? God could send me an email that says “Get ready, Jody, here comes a whopper storm!†And then He could include a checklist of what I needed to do to get ready. As long as I didn’t get that email, I could just relax and coast from day to day. (Right!)
Jesus said in John 16 that we, His disciples, were going to have trouble. He really didn’t sugarcoat it. He said it was going to be bad. So I’ve been given that email I wanted, haven’t I? It really isn’t about if there will be trouble but when.
Am I prepared? Have I been praying, reading, and studying so I soak up God’s wisdom? Have I spent time with other disciples and discussed and encouraged each other? If I have done these things then when the storm clouds grow dark in front of me I will be better prepared to batten down the hatches and ride that storm out surrounded by the very presence of God.
Stand by Me written by Charles A. Tindley, sung by Willie Nelson
