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Long ago, deep in the last century, I was a Boy Scout. This was back when being a Boy Scout meant learning something useful. Studying practical skills like walking into the woods with just a pocketknife and not starving or dying of hypothermia. It also meant embodying the Boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared," which basically meant learning how to not find yourself in the position of walking into the woods with just a pocketknife to survive.

I loved my time as a Boy Scout. During those years, every summer, my parents would ship me off for two weeks to the Western North Carolina Boy Scout Camp at Raven Knob, about fifteen miles west of Mt Airy, NC. This was where most scouts worked on merit badges, usually testing for five to ten badges each session. On one summer visit to Raven Knob, my third, I was going for one of the most coveted badges: camping.

There wasn't time in just two weeks to teach all a scout needed to know about camping to obtain the badge. A scout was expected to know how to survive in the woods before he got to Raven Knob. Because back then, to pass the Camping Merit Badge requirements, they simply handed you a topographical map and a compass, told you where on the map to make camp, had you shoulder a pack, and told you to report back in three days. And off you went. No GPS, no cell phone, and no alert necklace … you were on your own.

My pack was checked by counselors and passed muster before I departed. I think they wanted to ensure I remembered to pack food and didn't forget my tent. One of the most necessary items in my pack was my well-worn copy of the Boy Scout Fieldbook. (All these years later, it’s still one of the best outdoor books I've ever read.) I had read it cover to cover, and I knew if I got stuck on something, the Fieldbook would bail me out. And boy, did it. I referred to it over and over when setting up my camp. Eventually, most of this would be second nature, but for this trip I didn't yet have enough experience. I did have the Fieldbook, and that proved to be enough. I earned my Camping Merit Badge.

Surviving in this fallen world is much more terrifying than stepping off into the woods on a solo camping trip. Fortunately, our loving Father has provided us with our own "Fieldbook" to sustain us—a step-by-step survival guide. He has given us His glorious Word, voice, and loving instruction—all to help us weather this world. God implores us to immerse ourselves in the Bible, to meditate on what it says, and to plant His Word in our hearts.

It isn’t always easy. Satan attacks the Word and my ingesting of it every chance he gets. But I have to constantly remind myself—and this might help you as well—that when the Great King of all the Universe gives us His survival guide, it's probably an excellent idea to read it.

Are you prepared?