2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 17

Some days are easier than others when the storm approaches. Here in Florida we call the days leading up to the storm the “Cone of Uncertainty” and the closer the storm gets, the more accurate the plan must be. If the storm shifts, plans change. Those in the path of a storm are foolish to not have a plan.

When I moved to Florida, I knew very little about preparing for a hurricane. I turned to those natives in the area who had lived through several hurricane for advice. They helped me plan. Noah had never planned for a global flood before. God helped Noah plan. When the day of the storm came, Noah was ready and he entered the Ark with his family and the animals. All were safe from harm because they trusted God’s plan.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.  And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark, to escape the waters of the flood.  Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.

Genesis 7.6-9

We are living in the cone of uncertainty. We know the spiritual storm is coming, but when it will arrive, we don’t know exactly. Before a hurricane arrives, there are waves of bad weather for several days before the actual storm arrives. Many people think we are experiencing those advance storms now. Now is the time to get serious about our plan.

Great Lent is about getting the plan and putting the plan into action. When the time was right, Noah had completed the Ark and his family was safe. Now is our chance to put our plan into action. Is our heart ready for the storm? Now that we have been fasting for a few weeks, the battle gets a bit more difficult. Temptation is wearing on our patience. It is time to close up the Ark and get in.

Obviously, I’m not suggesting we close ourselves away from the world. That would be foolish. It would be equally foolish to live spend every day as if the storm was not coming. We have already learned that if God said it, it is true. He said the end was coming, and it will come. The only thing we can do is make sure the Ark is ready. We must make sure we are ready.