Emergency Preparedness of the Heart
“Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear…” (Psalm 10:17)
The word “prepare” means to get ready, or to put oneself in readiness. It also means to assemble, brace or strengthen.
In my years of working in disaster services, emergency preparedness was a crucial element and still is. It’s important to be prepared as much as possible for unforeseen events. It could be events as large as natural disasters or as small as a cut finger. It’s important to be organized in your home so you know where important items are in case of an emergency such as band-aids, topical ointments, Tylenol, etc. Other things such as having an emergency bag with an extra set of clothes, toiletries, medications, and important documents are equally as important. It’s important to know where those documents are as it saves time in finding them if you have to provide them for a job, school, etc. Living in the North Country, having extra food and supplies on hand are a must in case there is a snow storm and you are unable to leave the house. Why is being prepared so important? Because it lessens the fear of the situation if you are prepared. The bible speaks about being prepared such as the ant who labors in the summer to gather food for the winter (Proverbs 6:8; 30:25), Noah’s ark (Gen 6-9) and Joseph and the famine (Gen 41). Granted it’s impossible to have everything you need because that could run into large amounts of money, which is something not a lot of us have. However, we do have a great provider who can supply us with what we need at the right time, and our provider is God…which leads me to the other area we need to prepare…our heart.
There is greater value in preparing our hearts on a daily basis to be able to get through any emergency, trial or problem, great or small. How do we prepare our heart? Through prayer and reading of the Word of God. Philippians 4:6-7 speaks it best:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When we prepare our heart through prayer and reading the bible, we are providing strength and peace for our heart in knowing that Jesus will provide for our needs and see us through our situation. This means, we will be less fearful when situations rise up that could cause us concern and we will be better prepared to handle the situation. It’s normal to have some concern over our problems and trials, but because we took the time to prepare our heart through daily prayer and bible reading, we will be able to endure what is before us. Though it’s good to be prepared physically, it is more important to be prepared spiritually through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Do you take the time to prepare your heart daily so you will be able to withstand and endure any problem that comes your way? If not, then take a moment today, right now, to get with Jesus and ask Him to help you to prepare and strengthen your heart. Then pick up your bible and begin reading and continue every day. Just as gathering supplies for your home begins with purchasing items whenever you go out to a store, praying and reading the bible on a daily basis will prepare your heart and supply you with the spiritual reserves you need to ride out any storm that comes your way.