Ill-Equipped!

May the God of peace, who brought again our Lord Jesus from the dead, equip you with all you need to do His will. Hebrews 13:20

Today we are five days into the New Year of 2026! We are on a new adventure, and every day will bring something new. The very essence of an adventure is that we don’t know what’s going to happen, so how can we possibly be prepared or equipped for it?

A wise person once said, “Life is a continuous process of getting used to things we hadn’t expected!” Sometimes we find ourselves in predicaments without an apparent answer. We have problems with no apparent solution. We are on an adventure, and we realize it when we are not equipped to handle it!

When we are ill-equipped, we don’t have the necessary skills, qualities, resources, or equipment for a particular task or situation. Essentially, we are unprepared or inadequate to handle whatever it is.

Randy and I were fortunate to spend some time last week with some friends at their lake house. We came prepaared for everything we thought we would need on our adventure; however, we learned that one isn’t always as prepared as you think you are!

It was New Year’s Day 2026, when we loaded up Randy’s truck to set out on our adventure. Everyone was ready, and we piled into our respective vehicles. Randy got in, pressed the start button on the truck, and there was no response. He realized he didn’t have the key fob, so he went in to retrieve it! After an exhaustive search ( which included everyone looking through everything), we realized we were ill-prepared to remedy this situation at this time.

We finally transferred all of the items, to another vehicle and went on our way, but everyone was obsessed with how to get that truck started without a fob. Improvisation is part of the adventure, so we began to do just that! When we are ill-equipped for whatever happens, and we improvise, we are making the best of whatever situation with what we have!

Should we have brought our spare fob? Yes, but we didn’t. Should we have it towed to a dealership? No, too much money. Should we go home and get the fob and drive back? Yes and no, but only if it is the last resort. The final decision was since we had three cars that would crank, we would take the paper work to the Ford dealership the next day and have them help. Improvisation for folks who were ill-equipped.

As we were settling down for the Sugar Bowl, Randy left to change clothes, and when he came back, he had found the fob in one of his pockets. Problem solved, and we watched a great game even though we were ill-equipped for the ending, but that’s another story!

Our story is a minor irritation compared to those of us who have experienced instances of being so ill-equipped for the situations facing us. This past year, there are those of us who have suffered the loss of loved ones, those who feel the helplessness which comes with the sickness of a child, those who deal with the everyday stress of sickness, and those of us who feel lonely and abandoned.

God offers us a new year in which we can feel our strength being renewed as God prepares us to mount up and soar into new dimensions of His love and His plans for us. We are assured that we can walk in bold faith into this new year with God by our side. God has taught us a lot about how to handle blessings as well as trials.

The Bible says a lot about planning- when we can. Yet, on the other hand, we must be flexible and spontaneous because life has many surprises to which we must adjust. There are times when we find ourselves ill-prepared for the predicaments, tragedies, loss, sorrow, sickness, and heartache which seems to have no answer. Yet, with God’s help the answers come as long as we do not give up and keep trusting Him.

This new year brings a new beginning, and a new time to reflect on things we gained from the last year. Hopefully, many of us have grown and learned through the blessings and the trials.

Our scripture tells us that God will equip those of us who feel ill-equipped if we will just be patient and do His will.

O God our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come; Our shelter from the stormy blast, and Our eternal home. Under the shadow of Your throne, Your saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is thine arm alone, and Our defense is sure. Issac Watts