Pray, Prepare, Act

Psalm 61:1-4 (New Living Translation)

1 “O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer!
2 From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
3 for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!”

The terrible season is becoming more terrible as time passes. Hurricane Rita, following in the path of Katrina, her devastating sister, is taking aim on the Gulf Coast. Forecasters aren’t entirely certain, but it appears that she will make landfall near Galveston, Texas early Saturday morning.

The recovery from one catastrophe had barely begun and another is now looming, its fury fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf. It all seems so overwhelming, as though the heavens themselves are making war against this great nation.

But those of us who seem to be out of harm’s way at the moment cannot use the day or so left till Rita makes landfall idly. We must redeem the time. We must pray! We must give! And we must prepare to do our part to aid our brothers and sisters in the days to come.

The people of the Gulf will once more be tested. We must do all in our power to help them meet this test. As I said before, we must redeem the time with prayer, money, and action.

I came across a short piece this morning from Christianity Today on-line that best outlines the way we must continue to move forward:

“Does the wellspring of hope ever draw down, or is it always there for you?”
“Today has been the most stressful day I've had in the last four weeks, and it's with the emergence of Rita on top of it. There was a day last week where I mentally was hitting a wall. I was physically fine, but mentally I found myself just saying stupid things. And I said, I just need to go home and get some extra sleep tonight. After a nine-hour sleep night, I was fine the next morning.”

“We've been going seven days a week for 15 or 16 hours a day, nonstop. On Sunday morning two weeks ago I was in California doing media stuff out there, and went to the Salvation Army worship service in Orange County. I was fully revived. And Sunday this week I was in my own worship center here in Arlington, Virginia, and was fully revived.”

“It's that wellspring of assurance that we're in this for ministry. It's not about proclaiming the Salvation Army; it's about proclaiming the glory of God. We do that through a practical ministry. That's what keeps us going. It's what sustains every Salvation Army officer. We don't do this for fame or fortune. We do this as an extension of our ministry to serve suffering humanity. There's a fascinating way that just constantly renews our vigor, energy, and spiritual bodies, because we know we're in the will of God and fulfilling his mission.”