Are you prepared?
The Ant.
Proverbs 6:6-11
¶ Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”
Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.
This may seem like a strange verse to bring up when talking of survival.
But think about it.
We are told to take note of the Ant and how it lives and works, to survive.
Through the summer it gathers, so that through the winter it can survive.
And that is what we are discussing.
Or what most people will describe when talking about surviving,
The word of God does not talk about surviving the things to come but rather it speaks of the fact that as believers,
followers of Christ we have already been put on the survivors list,
if you have truly asked our Lord Christ Jesus to be your Lord, and have surendered all to follow Him and His comandments (seeking first His kingdom and rightesness), then your name is written in the book of life.
Revelation 3:5
‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Revelation 20:15
“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
If you read through the Bible, you will find we are to live our lives out for Christ so others can see His love and care for them, we are the light of this world so that they may see the Lord and the Holy Spirit can draw them to Him.
This does not mean we are to set around and do nothing but smile, nor are we to set around trying to figure out how to make it through each day, each war, each disappointment nor each calamity that might take place around us.
But we are to be prepared, just as the ant’s prepare for the winter.
So here are a few ways you can prepare for what is to come, it is not that you put your faith in these things, but that you do your part to be prepared.
Just as it is up to you to do your part in excepting Christ; when He stood at the door of your heart, you had to answer the door, that was your part.
To accept Him as your lord and savior, that was your part. Just as the Ant collects food in the summer for the winter, is its part. The Lord provides for the Ant but it is the Ant’s part to go pick it up and take it home.
So, here we go: But instead of calling this survival let call it being ready.
For if you are not ready you will not survive.
1. Make sure you are right with the Lord Jesus
2. Know who you are in Christ
3. Remember Mat 6:33 and on a daily basses seek first the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness, and all your needs will be added / provided you.
4. Learn from the Ant and do today what you can do to day, do not put it off till tomorrow. or wait for the government to provide it for you.
5. Be in the word of GOD to learn prophecy and pay attention to the things going on around you. And there are numerus vires that speak of that.
Here are a few things from the surviving survival book; In survival training
1. The only way to truly live without crippling anxiety and fears is to live a life immersed in the Lord Jesus and His Holy Spirit.
2. Rom 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.
3. Don’t get caught up in the worlds means of survival; stocking up on food and weapons. But rather live in God’s plan for survival; He sent His son to save us from hell.
Right here let’s talk about Loneliness and Boredom:
Man, always has been, but even more so now days is a social being.
This means we, as human beings, enjoy the company of others.
Very few people want to be alone all the time!
As you should be aware of, there is a distinct chance of isolation in a survival setting.
This is not bad.
Loneliness and boredom can bring to the surface qualities you thought only others had.
The extent of your imagination and creativity may surprise you.
When required to do so, you may discover some hidden talents and abilities.
Most of all, you may tap into a reservoir of inner strength and fortitude the Lord has given you that you never knew you had.
Conversely, loneliness and boredom can be another source of depression.
Surviving alone, or with others, you must find ways to keep your mind productively occupied.
You must develop your dependence on the Lord, trying to be self-sufficiency may sound good but if you are not grounded in and depending on the Lord you are missing out.
You must have some faith in your capability to go it alone, but remember the Lord is always with you and leads and guides you with a still small voice, depend on Him and lean on Him when you need help.
Don’t be afraid to ask Him for what you need.
Talk with Him and don’t forget to listen.
Ok back to the Ant.
If you watch an Ant that is all alone it will seem to have a purpose that is because it does.
Like a deer or any other wild animal, it may not go in a straight line to get to where it wants to go but it does have a purpose.
It will seek out food for the colony by going in all different directions, but once it finds a sour of food it will head directly back to the colony to let others know where and what it has found, and then you can see a line of ants going and coming, and that line can be verry straight at times.
Because they do have a purpose, and that purpose is to survive winter.
God provides for them but they have to seek it out and transport it back to the colony, they have to do their part.
Just as we are to do our part, for our survival.
God provides but we need to be active in receiving what He has provided.
Whether it be to grow a garden, to go pick and preserve, or purchase already preserved food.
Doing nothing will give you just that, nothing.
Those who clam the name Christian should understand this.
Jesus stands at the door and knocks, holding the free gift of salvation.
But you have to respond and open the door of your heart to receive.
He provides but you have to do your part by excepting.
No, your works do not save you, salvation is a gift from GOD, but you have to do your part,
Example;
let’s say some one offers you all the tomatoes in their garden because they have already preserved all they will need.
Should you expect them to give you what they have already preserved?
So that they have to go harvest and preserve what they will then need over aging?
By no means,
you would need to go pick, proses and preserver your own.
It has been provided but you need to do your part.
When i was growing up at home, every year we spent three months harvesting, processing and preserving food for the next year.
GOD provided and we got active, we worked heard, but we never went without.
we picked and processed;
Apples, apricots, blue berries, raspberries, black berries, strawberries, green beans, cucumbers, squash, peaches, pears, carrots, beets, pees, corn, cabbage,
Beyond canning thing whole, we made apple sauce, apple butter, apple jam and jelly.
out of Apricot, blue berries, raspberries, black berries, strawberries, cherries and plums we made sauce, jam and jelly
Out of Cucumbers we made pickles, and out of cabbage we made sourcrout.
We also canned meat; beef pork, venison and elk.
We went fishing every other weekend and canned fish.
We never went hungry, and only went to the store for paper goods, milk, cheese, suger and salt.
We grew, raised or went and picked everything ells.
In a survival situation, you will need to reduce the amount of food you eat, and you may not have a simple way to preserve for later, but it can be done,
God provides,
He has said He knows our needs before we even ask, and that He will provide our needs for us even as He does for the birds of the air, He will provide even as He dose for the Ant.
When you come upon an Ant does it look fearful of you? No.
i have never seen one stop what it was doing turn and run away, do you not think it can see you?
They are not blind.
No, they keep about their business and gather what God has provided.
God will provide, so do your part, stop relying on others to do it for you, Get off our ass-ets and consider the Ant.
Who is your GOD?
Who is your provider?
Is it GOD or the government?
Is it GOD or is it your local grocery store?
If you call yourself a Christian then pot your faith in Christ and step up to the plate, trust in Him and do you part.
Surviving can only be done by accepting Him and following His commandments.
Depending on Him for all your needs, when tings around you are falling apart, He is still in control, He is still God, listen to the Holy Spirit who is sent to you by GOD Himself.
Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and direct your steps, by doing so you will be able to see the gifts of GOD that He has set before you.
Last comment:
Stop being so concerned about survival and start walking with Christ our Lord.
He knows what is going on around you,
He knows your needs now and to come.
Learn to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, for if you learn to listen now you will hear Him when you are in tough times.
Man can take all earthly good from you, but GOD can and will still provide if you trust in Him.
Survival in not about having it is about trusting in the Lord and excepting His provision.
Mark 8:36
"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and and foirfit his soul?
think about it.