If it sounds like I am going into a sermonette, you’re right! You might have seen my Instagram posts with my #lockeddownItalia hashtags with meal plans and daily meal agendas — done in the eponymous whiteboard marker — not attractive, but useful, simple, and easy! Why do I plan? Because it’s in the Bible, it’s what I have learned in Sunday school — yes, folks in church. Here are three Bible stories that highlight the importance of being prepared (there are many more).
- Joseph interprets the dream that God gave to Pharoah Genesis 41:15 – 40. Basically, Pharoah has a dream that disturbs him about 7 fat cows, that are then devoured by 7 lean cows. That’s a dream weird enough to call on the Almighty All-Knowing God, and the interpretation was predicting 7 years of abundant harvests with 7 years of famine following them. You see, God was preparing everyone for these lean years and provided the wisdom needed to survive those tough years. Joseph went into planning mode, saved an appropriate amount of foodstuffs, and the nation of Egypt survived the lean years.
- Parable of the ten virgins Matthew 25:1. Let me caution you to not focus on the word ‘virgins,’ since this is a historical-cultural reference meant to highlight, in a situation the people of the time would easily understand, the concept of foolishness vs. wisdom, the idea of being prepared. In this time in history, it was customary to go out and wait while it was still dark for the bridegroom to come for his betrothed. So the foolish virgins took their lamps, not knowing how long they would wait, without additional oil, while the wise virgins took lamps and a spare jar of oil, just to be on the safe side. Really more of the meaning of this story is about the kingdom of heaven and practicing faithfulness. FOMO has always been the part that has stuck with me — maybe because in Sunday school, I was 7 years old and the teacher focused on being prepared as opposed to the kingdom of heaven — you don’t really want to scare little children about sudden death. Remember, those were the days when we would pray this prayer regularly:Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Please bless grandma and grandpa and make Toby, grandma’s dog, better. Amen.
- The story of the rebuilding of Jerusalem in Nehemiah is fascinating. It is full of bad guys, being prepared, organizing people, etc. Another Sunday school lesson series that influenced me.
What can we learn from these stories? Here’s the bullet list:
- Wisdom works well
- Think ahead
- Avoid bad stuff
- Don’t squander your wealth — you might need it later
- Manage your resources
- Stories that we tell our children matter
- Discipline of going to church (even if it’s online) builds character
- Reading the Bible builds character and is entertaining
- Expect bad guys in power and in government
- Do something even though there might be bad guys in power
- Prayer matters
- Relationship with God is beneficial to your health and lifespan
- Be bold and do right
- We don’t need to worry, we need to be obedient to God
What else have you learned from these passages of scripture?
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