Emergency Communication

READ: 1 THESSALONIANS 5:9-25

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Have you heard the loud, shrill beep following a test of the emergency alert system? On the radio, TV, or cell phones, tests like these ensure that emergency communication systems are up and running before they’re needed. In fact, in the United States, tests like these are so important that it is illegal to play the emergency alert sound apart from an authorized test or an actual alert. Because the last thing you need in a disaster is a broken communication system or a communication system that people have tuned out. And that brings us to an important truth. Prayer isn’t an emergency alert system. But sometimes we treat it that way—only praying when we’re going through hard times. But 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without stopping. At first glance, that seems daunting, but it becomes less challenging when we look at the principle underlying this verse: as Christians, we have a relationship with God. Basically, He wants us to talk to Him when things are going well and when things are going terribly. Keeping communication open with Jesus reminds us that we are dependent on Him and that He is always with us.  It reminds us that, in the future, we will dwell with Him and His people forever (Revelation 21:1-5). That’s the hope we can carry with us through every situation—emergency or not. •

Melissa Yeagle •

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