From when he was still called Abram, there was a tendency for the people of God to search for help in worldly sources. Egypt was the world power for a good, long time. They raised more food than anyone, since they could rely on the Nile to flood on schedule. The story of Joseph getting sold into slavery in Egypt was centered around food. Jacob ended up in Egypt when famine struck.
For centuries, the kings of the divided kingdom sought help from Egypt to protect them from Assyria and Babylon. But God was telling them, “Trust me. I will protect you.” When Jerusalem was surrounded by more than a hundred thousand Assyrian professional soldiers, God came through for the king who trusted Him.
God, through Isaiah, said to not trust horses and chariots. I ask today, what are your horses and chariots? Pundits and politicians? Republicans and Democrats? They cannot (I dare say they’ve proven they won’t) save America.
Who do you trust? God, or people? Are you looking to Egypt’s horses and chariots? Trusting in God isn’t the abdication of preparing, though. Joseph had Egypt store up excess for years to get ready for the famine to come. We should be doing that, too. Does that mean we’re trusting in our efforts instead of God? To quote Paul, “By no means!”
Everything we have is because God gave it to us. If we have “extra,” like the ancient Egyptians, it’s because God gave THAT to us. A prudent course of action is to be ready for lean times (AFTER we tithe, of course).
A lot of food requires refrigeration. Are you prepared for if the electrical grid goes down? Some of the medications I take require refrigeration. If power goes out, what do I do with that? Freezers stocked full of food will thaw without electricity. Do you have any kind of backup power? We’re heading into winter - what is your backup heating plan? “I’ll use my gas grill,” you may say. To which I reply, “Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? Does it run on battery power, or grid power?”
I believe there are tough times ahead. Yes, every generation has thought that. There’s a story I heard about a woman who lived through the Depression who had an envelope with, “Bits of string too short to save.” But they were saved. A prudent Christian will have some kind of “just in case” plan.
A few months ago I was asked, “What if I get raptured first?” That one’s easy: in that case the worldly possessions will be for God to take care of. He always has a plan, and it always works out. If I store up a warehouse of non-perishable food, then get raptured, God will use that for His plan. Evidently it wasn’t for my use.
Keep this in mind: if the tough times come, make sure you also take care of others. One of the reasons Christianity flourished in the Roman Empire was because a plague sent everyone running for the hills - except Christians. They stayed behind to help the sick, and many times those same Christians died of that plague. People wondered what would cause someone to risk their life in that way, and Christ was the answer.
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