Many years ago God gave Pharaoh a dream, interpreted by Joseph, about 7 coming years of famine. Because of this dream and its correct interpretation, Joseph was able to help Pharaoh use the present years of plenty to store food in order to prepare for the future years of hardship, thus saving countless lives. Today, from pandemics and natural disasters to wars, EMP threats, food shortages and price increases, the national debt and the constant Fed ‘quantitative easing’ threatening to eventually destroy the value of our currency, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a dream from God to know that hard times are coming. The evidence is all around us!
Look, I can’t tell you exactly how many, but we’re gonna need a LOT of buckets, mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers!
So this begs the question – should Christians take concrete steps to prepare for the hard times we all know are coming? So many Christians believe that ‘prepping’ means a mindset of NOT trusting God, but in fact it is much the opposite. While we do trust in him to guide and protect, we are using our God-given wisdom to act wisely. If you asked most Christians if they have car, house, or life insurance, many if not all would quickly say, ‘yes.’ This is not a lack of faith, rather it is being wise stewards of what we have been endowed. Being less dependent on commercial industry is much the same. We firmly believe that, indeed, Christians (and everybody else!) SHOULD prepare for what’s coming, using every resource possible.
Here are four key reasons why:
1.) God is sovereign, but we are responsible – Orthodox Christians believe in the sovereignty of God. He can and He will accomplish whatever He chooses to accomplish, in His time. He has control not only over the mighty universe and all the planets, stars, and galaxies therein, but also over every detail of our lives, even to the hairs on our head. OK if that’s the case, you ask, what’s the point of doing anything for ourselves?
Because God commands us to, that’s why!
Jesus brought Lazarus from the grave, but commanded the people there to roll back the stone. Couldn’t He have done it with a wave of His finger? Man is responsible. Couldn’t God, instead of having Joseph and the people go through the trouble of ‘prepping,’ have just made grain appear to feed the Israelites and Egyptians during the seven years of famine? Man is responsible. Couldn’t God, instead of having Noah build an ark and load it with provisions and animals, have just miraculously lifted the lives He wanted to spare to a cloud for a while? Man is responsible.
I could do it, but you guys could use the excercise
We are responsible to ourselves, our families, our communities, and our God to make wise decisions regarding the blessings He has bestowed upon us. And that leads to the second point…
2.) God commands us to provide for our families first – Consider the words of Paul to Timothy:
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8
Is it a selfish act to put back provisions for ourselves and our families, knowing that when hard times come there will be others left out? Are we responsible for the entire world the same as for our own family? No, and a resounding no! This is the kind of thinking that has led to some of the most oppressive, murderous ideologies known to mankind. The collectivist mindset, the notion that everyone, that all of ‘humanity’ should be just as important to us as those immediately surrounding us (family, friends, church, culture, nation, etc.), is a central tenet of Marxism. While it may sound good in theory, it is an evil philosophy that oppresses EVERYONE in the name of ‘equality.’ Unfortunately, this philosophy has permeated not only our governments, but our churches as well. There is only one person who can love every person the same – God! Utopia only exists in one place – heaven! If every individual would take RESPONSIBILITY for their own immediate spheres of influence, starting with their own families, the world would be a better place.
3.) God commands us to give to others – The opposite of point two? Not at all! If we are able, are we responsible to help others? Absolutely! We should prepare with the full understanding that, if times get hard, we WILL be giving a portion of our stores away to others in need who cross our path (and who the Lord lays it on our hearts to help). But if we have nothing stored away, how can we feed ourselves, much less help anyone else in need?
4.) God gave us a brain and He expects us to use it – If we are standing on train tracks and a train is coming, common sense tells us to move off the tracks. Common sense tells us to move to the side of the road when there is oncoming traffic. Common sense tells us to back away from the edge of a cliff. Does not common sense tell us that, if it’s obvious that hard times are coming, it might be a good idea to do what we can to prepare for those hard times?
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3
All this leads to one of the main reasons we are writing about these issues in our blog – to encourage others to prepare! The more people who take even rudimentary steps to prepare for hard times, the better off we will ALL be when hard times inevitably come. We’ll all be at different levels, and when the time comes it may or may not be enough, but as you make your purchasing decisions in the coming months, we encourage you, by faith guided by prayer, to make the choice to be an ant instead of a grasshopper.
It’s the Christian thing to do!
Be an ant, not a grasshopper!
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Great post bro!
Thanks! 🙂
Scott absolutely wonderful article! Wayne and I have been preparing for hard times, for three years. We have mylar bags and O2 absorbers, 4 generators, water filtration system and containers, food, gasoline, and much more. Maybe we can talk about some of this.
I am sending you a letter that Wayne wrote and mailed out to 75 people this week. I have also e-mailed it to a lot of people.
Thanks again for the article!
By His Grace and for His Glory, Helen Chaney
Thank you Helen!! Would love to compare ‘notes’ sometime. 🙂
Amen!! The Lord gave me the word “simplify” a few years ago. And then the word “preparation”. I believe that we are very much responsible for what God commands us to do and taking care of our families is a testimony of our love for our God. We have since simplified our lives, and still simplifying, and are preparing our family. Even to the point of having my parents move in next door. We are all under one roof and are working together to prepare! Thanks Again!! Blessings to you!
Thank you – great points! 🙂
Great post, we all need to be prepared. No matter what level we achieve, something must be done…
Thanks! You are absolutely right! 🙂
I say this with humbleness, so please consider these facts.
1. Even though the rich and middle class are prepping, the poor have no money to prepare.
2. Many preppers claim that they will give to those in need. However, many preppers do not give those in need right now. If the attitude to the poor in good times is “get a job you bum”, what will the attitude be in bad times.
3. If you prep, and the government hauls you away to prison, what was the prepping for?
4. Criminally minded people will be watching those who can pay in silver and gold, or those who never seem to be without food. Many preppers will be afraid to give out a can of food to needy people, not knowing if their lives are at stake.
5. Joseph prepared all of Egypt for the comming famine, not just his household. Remember, Joseph prepared for famine. Preparing for all out Economic Armaggedon is not the same as preparing for a famine. You have several things to consider. Please bare with me, two more points:
1. You have to consider that Economic Armageddon will cause famine, war, disasters, disease, spiritual deception, crime, perversions, dictatorship, and finally mass deaths. It has a combo effect. Essential, to be a true prepper, you have to be prepared for all of those events.
2. Could it be that to be a true prepper, you will have to rely on Christ soley. Hear me out–could it be, that to survive this, it will require supernatural intervention. Remember the church of Philedelphia. Remember God’s promise to put the remnant in Bozrah, the sheepfold.
Thank you for your time and allowing me to comment here.
May the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob bless you richly and abundantly. I pray for you and all of those who have posted a message on here—May God protect all of you in this dark and evil age.
Thanks for the thoughtful post. Those are certainly things worth considering. Actually, I think we’re both right… the whole concept of the sovereignty of God vs the responsibility of man comes to mind. Sure we have to rely on Christ, but we are also responsible to do what we can with what we are given. Some people aren’t able to prepare – when the time comes God can take care of them. But for those of us who have the means AND the knowledge, in our opinion it would be IRresponsible NOT to prepare as best we can. Sure, a tornado could come and blow it all away. Sure, the government could take it all away. We could die tomorrow of a car accident or today of a heart attack… God is in control of those things – but we need to take charge of the things He has put US in control of!
Best Regards,
Scott
Gotta agree with anon and somewhat with Scott. I think we should prepare as much as we can without being nuts about it and drawing attention to ourselves. God will fill in where we miss.
The economy is bad and going to get a whole lot worse. Living off the land is not going to happen for very long. We need a source of water and if we are lucky enough to have a back yard, we could, I am saying to do this, but we could, build some cages/hutches and raise fast breeding small animals to help feed us…e.g. rabits, pigeions, quail, chickens, whatever is edible meat whise that can be raised in a pen…we can also plant fruit and nut trees in our back yards and grow gardens…it will be a good idea to have a store of food as well…as much as we can afford without hurting ourselves and without drawing attention to ourselves…
Just my two cents…I believe anaon is right, but also scott, we should do what we can and trust and depend on God.
Sorry for the misspelled words, bad grammer and punctuation…its late, I’m tired.
Someone please respond, how do you prep when you don’t have a yard and you rent and not own a place?
It’s tougher for sure! You can still store extra food & supplies. Do you have a family member you can “bug out” to in an emergency?