Yes, the world is beginning to fall apart. Are you Ready?

We’ve all seen the extreme preppers and survivalists. Their goal is to simply survive in the face of a global disaster that they are sure is about to happen. They are preparing in a panic because they are fearful that the world is beginning to fall apart. When you consider their position and fear, it’s no surprise to find that they are giving no consideration to the Lord. Instead, they believe they can do enough and hoard enough to be their own savior.

We have also seen the extreme Christians who have lost their minds trying to interpret prophesy and are sure the Lord’s return or rapture is so close at hand that they have almost stopped living their lives in order to prepare and warn everyone around them. They, too, recognize that the world is beginning to fall apart and are trying to prepare as well, but there is still an element of fear in their preparation.

In contrast, there are many people who are preparing for a global disaster by homesteading, using organic garden methods and permaculture practices, and learning about herbs for health as the Lord leads and shows them what to do. They have a walk with the Lord and understand the source from where their help will ultimately come. They recognize the benefits of what God has provided through his creation and are able to prepare for trouble calmly. They can do what they are doing with the peace that passes understanding, similar to the Proverbs 31 woman who is praised for being able to laugh at the time to come because she has managed her life, home, and family well.

Our Help comes from the Lord.

The Bible says our help comes from the Lord in Psalm 121 and that He provides for the lilies and the birds in Matthew 6, so He will provide for us. Therefore, we must keep our focus on the One who holds the universe in His hands. Because God is sovereign, we don’t need to fear. He has given us promises to encourage us. Both passages are worth taking the time to read and ponder if fear is tormenting you.

When you start to understand how perfectly God designed plants to nourish and heal our bodies, you can’t help but give God the glory. And when you discover the brilliant systems in place that support plant and human life right down to the microscopic level, you will stand amazed. The intricate working of nature and our world inspires me whenever I pause to observe and consider it. All nature really does sing praise to God and reflect His glory.

Since God created all of nature, our hope must be in Him, not our own efforts, when the world seems to be falling apart. The Bible also tells us that the Lord directs the steps of the righteous and will bless or not bless their efforts. Over the years, I have learned that God doesn’t allow success or bless my efforts when it’s not within His plan. I’ve come to be grateful for that because it has ultimately resulted in protection for me. If I’m honest, I don’t want anything not in God’s will for my life, anyway. The disappointment of failure stings, but it’s important to remember that we were each created for a purpose and specific roles in God’s overarching plan for humankind.

Yes, the world is beginning to fall apart.

For just a minute, I want to speak about the global disaster that more and more people fear. The preppers and survivalists aren’t wrong. Neither are the extreme Christians. A global catastrophe is coming our way, the world is beginning to fall apart, and not surprisingly, the Bible speaks to that as well. Jesus predicted it in Mark 13, and the entire book of Revelation describes it. The tribulation period in future history is the global disaster in our future and will be catastrophic. Our world will fall apart during that time. But as believers, though, we have nothing to fear. It will climax in a great battle of good and evil, and we know good (the Lord) wins.

Our pastor spoke on Mark 13 recently (you can watch the sermon here. It starts at 39:05) and explained that Jesus tells us in Mark 13 that our world will begin to fall apart. There will be “cosmos chaos,” as he put it. His perspective that our Lord will let go of our universe for a bit before He returns, allowing it to fall apart, is thought-provoking. It will be enough to demonstrate His power and allow Him to provide a rescue not only for our universe but to usher in Jesus as king and ruler.
Our focus needs to be on the Lord.

Again, our focus must be on the Lord, not our efforts to save ourselves. Last week I wrote about the scariest verse in the Bible and asked if you were ready for the Lord’s return. Truthfully, our world seems to be at the beginning of birthing pangs, and we all, believers and non-believers alike, intrinsically seem to sense the coming disaster. Therefore, it’s vital that instead of focusing on saving ourselves, we focus on the One who has the power to save us.

We know that at some point, either before or during the tribulation, believers will be caught up to Jesus in the twinkling of an eye and rescued from the worst of the disaster. We need to be ready for His return because it could literally be at any moment since the birthing pangs seem to have begun.

Are you ready?

As I pondered the message and the need to be ready for the Lord’s return, I realized there’s also another reason we need to live prepared. We need to be ready globally for His return in the rapture, but we also don’t know when He has determined the end of our own days. The Bible tells us that the Lord numbers the days of our lives and calls us home at the appointed time. God knows when that is, and that’s another reason we need to be right with the Lord and prepared to meet Him. The Lord could call any one of us home in the next minute. It’s not crazy to understand that any breath could be our last.

Have you considered the words of Jesus? Does He know you?
Has He called your name?
Do you know Him or only know about Him?

These are the questions we need to consider as we prepare for the coming global disaster. These are more important than trying to figure out when a global catastrophe will happen or how we will get through it. But we can trust that God will lead us to and provide all the knowledge we need for any hard times we will endure. But that’s secondary to having our hope and trust in the Lord.

With our eyes on Him, He will take care of the rest.

Homesteading, permaculture, holistic living, and herbal medicines are all great things. They are all gifts from God and things He can use to prepare us. He has used them all in my life for health and healing, which is why there are two recently added sections to my blog. We need to be aware of the coming events and prepare for them. But, unlike the extreme preppers and survivalists, let’s be careful to keep them in their proper place, focusing on God first and foremost. We must place our hope and trust in His sovereignty above all.