“And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

So, today as I write this, the ice finally started to melt. It’s times like these and when we have hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and ice storms, that we are reminded how many of our everyday comforts we enjoy and completely take for granted. Take away our home power grid, keeping us cool and comfortable in the sweltering summers and nice and toasty in the winter and we feel like the world has come to an end. Take away our clean running water or hot water for bathing and we feel like we will not survive. I have lived most of my life in either south or central Louisiana where hurricanes and floods visit frequently. So, I usually keep 5-gallon cans of ethanol-free gas ready, my generator started and running regularly and cases of bottled water in the garage. Weather-wise, I am a prepper. But not this time for this cold front. Somehow my gas cans got lost in my move to Minden, I could not find my miles of extension cords and I was nearly out of water. So, Saturday I stood in long lines buying what was left in the stores, praying and hoping for some mercy.

Mercy was indeed shown. No power outage, no loss of water and no frozen pipes for us- this time. But I have lived well through those losses in the past, sometimes for weeks at a time. You learn to adapt and rely on God to get you through. Paul’s letter to the church in Phillipi, closes with the words above about the provision of God. Before that Paul writes, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

2024 will bring challenges and opportunities for all of us. For your peace of mind, prepare as best you can. However, there is no way to foresee every challenge. That is why we must learn to rely upon God, pray for what we need, thank God for his provisions and open our hearts to his healing peace. May God bless you and your family in the coming year.

(Steve Berger is pastor of First Methodist Church Minden, a Global Methodist Church. He is the husband of Dianne, his partner in ministry, they have two adult sons, a dachshund, and love living in Minden.)