Spiritual Prepping
These days you hear more and more about people being encouraged to stock up on food and other necessities in advance of the anticipated “crash”. It is not uncommon, in a presidential election year, for people to “fear the worst” if the incumbent is not reelected. I’ve heard three such fear-driven prognostications this month already. And I’ve heard about people prepping.
However, when I read my Bible, I don’t sense the fear that I hear others talking about. I find verses of scripture that encourage me rather than discourage me. We’re going to look at a few of these tonight. Instead of prepping, the best way to prepare for an uncertain future is to follow these verses.
Fear God and hope in his mercy, Ps 33:18-19. “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine”. If, in fact, there will be a shortage of food and other necessities in the future, the first thing you should do to prepare for this is fear God and hope in his mercy.
The fear of God and hope are two aspects of our trust in God that take time to mature. According to Rom 5:3-4, hope comes after you’ve had tribulation, patience, and experience. And understanding the fear of the Lord, Prov 2:5, comes after you’ve done the things in Prov 2:1-4.
People sitting on a lot of supplies are going to fair far worse than people who have learned to fear God and hope in him. God has limitless supplies to keep you alive in famine. You pantry and larder are no comparison to his storehouse.
Be upright, Ps 37:18-19. “The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied”. If, in fact, we were to even face a famine, the Lord will look out for the upright. Not only will he keep them alive, as in Ps 33:18-19, but they shall be satisfied.
Elijah created a famine when he prayed for the rain to stop. It didn’t rain for 3 1/2 years. Yet, he was satisfied with the food brought by the ravens and by the cakes supplied daily by the widow. The Lord saw to his needs.
Give liberally, Prov 11:24-25. “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself”. We are in the perfect position right now to give liberally and bountifully to the Lord. We have so much.
Read 2 Cor 9:6-11. When we give cheerfully, the Lord makes all grace abound toward us. We always have all sufficiency in all things. Notice that the Lord not only multiplies your seed sown, but he also ministers bread for your food!
Conclusion: the best way to prepare for an uncertain future is to learn to fear God and hope in his mercy, be upright, and to give liberally. This is spiritual prepping. Now if you still think you need to add some emergency supplies to these three things, then do so prudently and wisely, without fear and anxiety. The underlying motive for prepping is fear. But once you have made the proper spiritual preparations, you’re going to notice that the fear is gone. Now you can make sensible decisions rather than fear-driven choices. And you can count on God to take care of of you.