Preppers

A quick check of the Internet or YouTube will show that many people are prepping for an uncertain future by stockpiling food, moving to remote areas, learning survival skills, and a variety of other things to prepare for economic, political, or environmental upheaval. Maybe their right. The Bible as well as other faith traditions speak of difficult times as history unfolds. It makes sense that negative human activity has a compounding effect over time. We often experience this in more personal ways not necessarily directly associated with global trends. We experience business failures, marriage breakups, health problems sometimes brought on by what the Bible calls sin, a word that in the original means "missing the mark" of what God intends, how things are supposed to work. Whether or not you're a person who is into prepping as mentioned above, wouldn't it make sense to consider spiritual prepping as well? The Bible let's us in on a secret that many suspect anyways. Life does not end with physical death. What you're doing now has an effect on who you're becoming, and that affects you future beyond death. God knows that left to ourselves, we make a mess of our lives. And that by ourselves we can't can't solve the problems we create. When we're in trouble, we often look for assistance from an outside source. The Bible tells us that God has not left us with our dilemma, but stepped into the mess with a solution, Jesus. Why is that hard to believe? When we're in trouble, don't we often look for a solution in or through another person. The Bible says that God provide a pathway through and out of our present mess through a relationship with Jesus. In Him we're forgiven, given a fresh start, and assistance to live a new and better life through the power of the Holy Spirit. If things go from bad to worse, wouldn't it be good to have someone with you who has experienced the worst that life can throw at you? --- persecution, torture, and a slow painful death (Jesus was crucified). But wonder of wonders, we're told by many witnesses that this same Jesus rose from the dead. The worst things that life can do to us are not the last word. If terrible things do happen in our lifetime, and all the external preparations fail, wouldn't it have been wise to do some inner prepping as well? You could pray and know that the One who is listening knows what you're experiencing. You could ask for wisdom to know what to do; you could ask for strength and courage to endure, and you would know that ultimate victory and survival were yours, even if and when you experienced physical death. No matter whether death comes in an apocalyptic way or not, death is something that all of us face all the time. Be a wise prepper!