I am sure that many people are casting a worried eye upon the future. We are living in unprecedented times, with a global situation that many consider to be a foreshadowing, if not the actual scene, of the days preceding the coming of the Lord. Certainly the global economic shake-up is one of Biblical proportions. In Proverbs 31, the woman who fears the Lord has plenty of advice for us. Verse 25 says, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.” There are ways to be prepared for the uncertainties of the future, and I want to share a few of these with you.

 

First and foremost, we need to cultivate our relationship with God. We must be worshippers of the first order. By that I mean that worship should be the attitude of all our actions and we should live in a constant sense of prayer and praise toward our Heavenly Father. He is good -- no matter what the cable news people have to say about what’s going on in the world today. God is seeking those who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). I don’t mean that you have to walk around singing worship songs all day, or that you need to keep music playing all the time, because worship goes far deeper than the outward expression. It means to honor the Lord in your thoughts, to turn to Him continually as in prayer, to lift up praises to Him through your words and deeds, and to live in the light of His Word and His presence. A worshipper will not be caught off guard, because his heart and mind are in constant contact with the Lord, in an attitude of adoration and humility.

 

As part of the worshipful lifestyle, we must develop a listening ear.  God contends with His people in every generation and asks them to listen to His voice. This is a primary function of our walk with the Lord. In Jeremiah 7:23, the Lord says, “But this is what I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people, and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.” He is not so much interested in our rituals, our dogmas, and so on. What matters is loving Him enough to listen and to obey.

 

To be prepared for these days of turmoil, it will take more than the buying of gold or the security one may get from having food for many days stored up. We must live in community with other believers, and we must have a plan to bless the wider community around us that includes non-believers. Our churches must become more than cultural filling stations, we must move into caring for one another and carrying one another’s burdens. The community of believers should be involved in helping one another when needs arise, joining together in heart and mind to be a blessing to others in these tough times. We need each other more than ever before, and the world of unbelievers needs us more than ever to be salt and light, to show them the love of God.

 

To be prepared for the days ahead, we must become more God-dependent, and less dependent on the systems and infrastructure of man. This means leaning toward a more agrarian lifestyle, with less connection to the vulnerable systems of food delivery (grocery stores) and energy (power grid). In Florida a couple of years ago, four hurricanes back to back put quite a few people into the uncomfortable position of living without running water or electricity for many weeks. The same is happening this year in the Midwest with ice storms knocking out power. There are ways to help your family get through times like these, but it takes an investment in simplifying your life, learning to conserve energy and water, and then switching to energy and food systems that are more dependent on God. Growing your own garden, using solar and wind energy, learning to can food and to take care of domestic farm animals, all are ways to become more dependent on God and His creation than on the 24-hour grocery store.

 

Another important aspect to being prepared for the times ahead is to love your neighbor as yourself. What I mean is that your security and your family’s security depends on having neighbors who have their needs met. We can diffuse greed and violence, theft and chaos, by making sure that those around us are well fed and cared for. We are our brother’s keeper, including the non-believing around us. I would rather help them learn to garden and stay warm with wood heat, than to have to wait on my porch with a shotgun in case someone wants to steal my stuff or my home.

 

 

To sum this up, I want to say that it is good to have food storage and guns for hunting and gold for some unknown eventuality, but the best way to prepare for the days right ahead of us are to worship God and cultivate a listening ear for His voice, to be part of a Christian community of believers who help one another and care for the wider community as well, to become more dependent on God (living a more agrarian lifestyle) and less dependent on the industrialized global system, and to love your neighbor as yourself, helping them to achieve independence from the world system and sharing the Gospel with them so they too can have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. With this kind of preparation we too can smile at the future.

 

Aimee Hennen