My Ever-ready Declaration

As a pastor, mine is frequently the privilege to share with people the Hallmark moments of their lives: weddings and marriages and efforts to avert divorce, births and deaths and all the celebrations and crises in the living middle, joys and breakthroughs and triumphs, and, yes, sorrows and breakups and tragedies. People simply need a God-presence when life happens. People want to know God is near and He cares.

The truth is every significant life event exposes us. From our baby girl’s first breath to our Daddy’s last, both the planned affairs and the unexpected happenings remind us of our own mortality. Only the willfully blind miss this. We are, each of us, either ready or not. Whatever the moment, we are either among the prepared few or the unprepared masses.

Some life passages cast the illusion we can prepare fully for any contingency they may present. We should, of course, avail ourselves to resources that help us get ready for the life events on our horizons. Bear in mind, though, that no class or seminar has yet been designed that can completely prepare an expectant mother – or father – for childbirth. Moreover, every life at some point will experience at least one train wreck. How can we be ready for those unforeseen catastrophes that shake us to the core of our being?

Good, truthful information is an invaluable asset to maximize any of the moments of our lives, but information alone does not make us ready. We cannot prepare specifically for every eventuality a life lived may produce. I maintain, however, that we can yet make ourselves so ready that we are indeed ready for anything. This kind of readiness exceeds the bounds of information. This kind of readiness requires an intimacy with the Infinite.

Because I have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I am ready for anything. I know He loves me – His plans are always good. I know He is all-knowing – He ways are right. I know He is all-powerful – His purposes will prevail. And, friend, my ever-ready declaration can be yours as well: “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:12-13, The Message). Are you ready or not?