Be Prepared

For the next three weeks we will continue a series of messages about moving from the deserts in our spiritual lives to the oasis. We will be looking at Luke 4:1-13 for keys to not only surviving in the desert, but thriving in them.
I shared yesterday a story about a time I had my wrists duct taped around a tree when playing a water gun battle game with some older kids. The guy thought he took away any tools I might use to escape, but he missed my secret pocketknife in my sock. I mentioned how I had that pocketknife placed in my sock for just such an occasion and how I always wanted to be prepared for any situation.
Last I was remember how many times I put that pocketknife into my sock and did not need to use it. Actually that is the only time I remember needing to use that pocketknife, but if I had given up early on putting that pocketknife in my sock then it would not have been there this one time I needed it.
Have you ever felt in your spiritual life that you are learning lessons or continuing disciplines that you are sure you will ever use? I remember thinking that way in school. When in "real life" am I actually going to need to know how to solve a quadratic equation? (I don't know I have directly used that outside of school, but I do use principles I learned with that math in my life.) And you might have asked me when would I ever really need a pocketknife in my sock? Now I can say, when you are duct taped to a tree.
It is the same in our spiritual lives. There are lessons to learn and disciplines to practice because God uses them to develop our faith and there may be a specific time in the future those lessons and disciplines will carry us through. That is why we need to be in small groups, we need to be reading our Bibles and we need to have daily time of prayer and devotion. Maybe you do not see the results you want right now, but God will use those preparations to work in your life.