Be Prepared

Ahhhh! I cannot contain my joy for God.  It is ridiculous.  I just wanted to share what God has shown me this morning.  Have you ever just sought out God in scripture???? I mean, hopefully you have.  If you haven't you need to try it.  I know that in my own personal walk I am ashamed that I have read scripture just because it was the motion that was necessary to say I had a "devotion".  I would wake up and read the next section of a book of the Bible and close the Bible and think, 'Good job Jenn.  You read some of God's Word.  Check it off, and go live your day for random purposes.'

Crazy way to read the Bible, I know.  The times I have gone through the motions of religion instead of seeking out a relationship with Jesus is embarassing and shameful.  The times I have justified my Christianity with a check off list of reading scripture and sending up a formula prayer breaks my heart.  That confession alone is so sad to me. 

Thank you Jesus that You continue to call after me until I get little moments of "Yes, Lord, I desperately seek after You because I desperately need You! This is real.  YOU ARE REAL."

Anyway, this morning I was reading in Jeremiah where God answers Jeremiah's plea for knowing when the desolation will end.  Basically God says, "If you can't handle yourself in this little storm, what will you do when the hurricane hits?"  It really struck me.  I felt the need to be really prepared. To really seek out what God says about being prepared.  I don't want to try to hold my head above water in the murky times and then be at a total lost when the crashing waves start to toss me around.  I want to know who my God is with certainty and security.  I want to be prepared.

So God led me to some amazing truth in 2 Timothy.  A book that until now has just been that little thin one with a bunch of other thin ones toward the end of the New Testament.  Oh God you are soooo good.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." - 2 Timothy 4:2

Lord I want to constantly be in preparation for You.  So that when life gets tougher than I can imagine You are the Rock I cling to with hope and security.  I want to be prepared so that I can shout out Your goodness and love to anyone who will hear.  I want to be prepared so I can show Your traits with courage and strength. 

I love You Lord.  So much.