Your Disaster Checklist

Billy Graham

Bottled Water
Flashlight
Radio
Extra Batteries
First Aid Kit
Blankets
Generator

If the cities in your country were leveled by missiles or enemy bombers, what would you do? How would you react if an earthquake cut off all communication, water, and electrical sources? What would you do if a group of terrorists held you hostage? Or if a hurricane destroyed your home?

The need for turning to God has never been more urgent!

If we want to be prepared in the time of disaster, we need more than just flashlights and bottled water. We need to have a spiritual survival kit. God has storehouses of supplies for us--comfort, peace, strength, and even joy. But before we can receive this abundance, we must meet some requirements:

First, we need to make sure of our relationship to God. We must be prepared to meet God at any moment. Isn't it strange how we prepare for so many things except meeting God? Getting to know God and being able to call on Him is the first step in storing up for the storms. Getting to know God is not just believing in His existence--it's developing a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Second, we need to learn how to walk with God in our daily lives, no matter where He leads us. Christ promised His disciples, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). What great reassurance that is! Christ must be vitally real to us if we are to remain faithful to Him in the hour of crisis. Who knows when that hour might be?

Third, we need to read and memorize Scripture. People have told me that when they were suffering, sometimes they could only remember small parts of Scripture. One woman, upon hearing bad news, repeated over and over again, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). I urge you, too, to memorize Scriptures, such as Romans 8:31-39, and hide them away in your heart. When persecution, trouble, and adversity arise, these verses will give you hope and strength.

Fourth, we need to make prayer our priority. It seems as if we pray only during a crisis, and then between crises we neglect to pray. But we have so many battles going on that we should be a people of prayer. Our government needs our prayers. Our leaders need our prayers. Our schools need our prayers. Our youth need our prayers. Our families need our prayers. Miracles have happened when God's people have turned to Him in prayer. God does not always deliver us out of catastrophe, but He promises to be with us throughout.

Are you preparing for the storms of suffering? Or will you be caught without resources? The best way to prepare is to deepen your spiritual life. We have God's storehouses of peace, comfort, and strength available to us at all times. When the resources are needed, they are there for us. So be prepared. When the "evil day" (Ephesians 6:13) comes, we need not be controlled by the circumstances around us, because we can depend on the resources of God.

Take the first step today. You can pray something like this:

Dear God, I know that I cannot face disaster without You. I recognize that my sins separate me from You, and I turn from my sins now. I receive Jesus as my Savior, and I confess Him as my Lord. Please walk with me every day in these uncertain times, and help me find strength and peace in You in my hour of need. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Š 2002 - 2006 Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
Translated by permission of Good News Publishers
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