OK, I have to admit it the National Geographic programmers drew me in hook, line, and sinker…My boys and I have watched quite a few episodes of the reality TV show…Doomsday Preppers. My husband has even walked through the room and become intrigued. Basically it showcases various individuals or families across America that are preparing themselves for the end of the world and /or economic breakdown in our country that makes The Great Depression look like a vacation. They have stock piles of dehydrated foods, large gardens, basements, cellars and even secret hidden storage units filled with canned goods, medicines, and of course ammunition and weapons of self-defense. Some have built their homes in the wilderness secluding themselves from the outside world and the coming chaos, while others live in apartments across from the capital in Washington to keep abreast on the latest developments. Families have emergency plans and practice them on a consistent basis for keeping the family safe and secluded when the time comes. Children are taught survival methods in the wilderness and many have wardrobes of camouflage to hide from the enemies that will come in and steal their plunder. Much time is spent in their prepping; one woman even stated that she spends upwards of four hours each day preparing herself. Many have spent any and all extra funds in stockpiling necessary supplies. One couple has relocated and purchased an abandon underground missile sight that they live in. An out of the box contractor has cashed in on doomsday prepping by drawing up a plan of building secure living communities that will in fact run like a town but secure from the chaos and unfolding of the Armageddon events outside their walls. He is drawing in the wealthy and elite to his idea. As I view the different scenarios of real people living in real time my first reaction is to chuckle at their alarmist motives. My second response is I really can’t disagree with the fact that our country is in a place where economic ruin is not a far of fantasy. But my question is this: What is the driving force behind doomsday prepping for these people?
Fear.
I read this quote today, “Fear is rooted in the desire to protect ourselves from judgment, pain, or suffering. Fear operates by getting people to put their attention on themselves. It causes a person to focus on self-preservation and reject anything that threatens his or her self-interest. Fear causes us to hide. Deny truth. Flee the presence of God. Fear will rob us of our destiny. The very walls you build up out of fear to protect yourself will be the very prison that ensnares you.” –Steve Foss
The people that have become obsessed with preserving themselves are living for a moment that may or may not ever happen in their life time. Living the reality of their lives for a what if moment or period of time. Fear has deceived their perception. Now every life moment they spend is perceived through the possible event of a coming chaos, of the powerful America ending. While the world and their lives go on. Let’s say on best case scenario for them America’s power does crash. Let’s say the book of revelation in the bible that reveals the end of the world as we know it comes to an end a season worse than the great depression occurs. At best they will perhaps survive a bit longer than the unprepared…at best and for what? In the end we will all draw a final breath and whatever doomsday prepping that had been done will not have an effect on the fact that we will all die. Will they look back and say I’m so glad we spent all of our time, energy, money and resources on the possibility of the end coming or will they look back with regret…If only I had truly lived instead of fearing the possibility of an imminent death?
Unless… (As one of my favorite authors, Dr.Seuss, would say...) Unless, our doomsday prepping perhaps is drastically different from that which can be viewed in high definition before our eyes.
In the Word of God, Jesus said this, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –Matthew 6:19-21
As I watched doomsday prepping it sparked a motivation in me. A call to action. Not to just sit around and laugh, judge, or be complacent. The Holy Spirit in me called me that I too also need to begin storing up. Because there will be an ultimate end to America, the world as we know it, the earth itself. Revelation 21:1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” God in his word states the end. It’s not pretty when it comes, but produces something more beautiful than I can comprehend. I may or may not live to the end of the age, but there is one thing that is not in question one of two things will happen: either this world will die or I will and so will you. When one or the other comes into the reality of my breath, your breath where will our treasure be?
No I don’t have stockpiles of food and ammunition in my basement, but what about my heart? How many times have I, do I, operate out of fear and self-protection. Have I hoarded and stockpiled things for myself in this life? Things that I thought would better me? Such as hiding from deep hurt, avoiding things too painful in my life and running to the next thing to console my bleeding heart. I have realized that I have a pattern. I am a professional “runner” who sprints, flees, flies the coop when things get tuff. If you ask me flight or fight, I, with plane ticket in hand, bags packed and trip itinerary run to get to the plane that will send me out of miserly, conflict, sorrow, or pain in general. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not a rare breed. Sometimes our flight is a flee other times it’s a denial and an avoidance that leaves us living fake, half transparent and hiding. Running in instances is a panic of “Get me a quick fix”. A gallon of ice cream. A long night of mixed drinks and “great” sex with a stranger. A marathon slide of the credit card at the mall. A counselor, maybe many counselors until we get to the one that tells us what our aching ears want to hear…it’s OK...it’s not your fault…time will heal. (All of which can be helpful. But not when real pain should first be run to instead of run from) For some it’s constant something…exercise, work, laughter (just laugh it off), drinking, gambling, meth, busyness (God forbid that silence and stillness swallow us alive and reveal the pain we think we have conquered in the fast lane of our, “Hi, how are you?” life!) I have much junk “stored up in my heart” the very things that I thought would bring me freedom from the pain, bound me a captive and in prison more and more to it (pain), and the secondary addiction as well(name your kryptonite). Well then, here we are with this divinely uncomfortable revelation…what to do now? It gets deeper. For me I realized why I run, avoid, flee. For me it shows a lack of trust and an authority problem. And that is sin.
I am a sinner. I was born that way. A rebel if you will. I was so stubborn in the birth canal and refused to come out that placenta previa occurred and I came after! I was so unwilling to obey authority, at four years old after getting a spanking I would look my mom in the eyes as she fought back tears and say in a sing song voice with a little hip swing to go along with it, “Didn’t hurt mom!” I was born with a main dish authority problem and a spiced up side of strong will to compliment it. Thus you will not tell me what to do or how to do it and if you do I will buck you. Thankfully, over the years I have come to some good realizations in my life such as laws are to be followed for our best interest, rules mostly have a good purpose, and there is a reason people are in authority…I learned this lesson best when I myself became a mom (who knew?!). Learning these things has been helpful but the one choice I made at 16 years of age changed everything. That strong willed, stubborn girl had grown into a strong willed, stubborn teen who worked diligently at controlling her life and the people around her which caused a habit of perfection and people pleasing. This led to a very sick cycle of inward defeat. When you live in a fallen world where things do not always turn out as planned and people do not always do as you hope; expectations are continually not met. This is overwhelming to the one working so hard to be the one who saves face for everyone. My life was spinning out of control, but secretly I learned one thing I could control. I developed an eating disorder. Bulimia. I could eat to my heart’s desire and then purge the food before it digested and not gain an ounce. I was in authority… until my secret was brought to light. I was admitted to a treatment hospital in Dallas, Texas called Jehovah Rapha (which means, our God who heals) it was there in the middle of that big city in a dark sanitized hospital room that I made a decision that would change everything. After a day of saying good-bye to my family and being left behind locked steel doors with video cameras and a security system. After an afternoon of being stripped searched to make sure I had no weapons or drugs on my person to harm myself or others and my belongings thrown out onto the floor of my room where a nurse sorted through my things and took what could be a possible threat (razor for shaving, blow dryer, etc…) let’s say I came to the end of me. My grandmother had given me a bible before I got on the plane. In desperation that night I picked it up and said these words, “God if your real, I need to know it and I need you to show me and come in and save my life.” My bible fell open to this verse “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” -Proverbs 3:5,6. That was my moment of salvation; I gave up the authority and control I had worked so hard to protect. My heart filled with hurt and unmet expectations let go and it was filled with a Holy presence, a forgiving Savior, and a peace that surpasses my understanding. I was instantly healed of my eating disorder and have never purged or starved myself since that day July 1, 1990. I love God. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. My name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. This is good treasure that I began storing up even at a young age where I didn’t know at the time the deeper unseen meaning of it all. My eternal destination changed that night from hell to heaven. Life since then has been far from perfect or easy.
I still have a lot to learn; a lot of sin to throw off that so easily entangles me. And so I am throwing out this entangled sin in my heart that I have stored up. I don’t like weeding. It’s such a chore. But there is now beginning to be room for me to store up something else. As the fear and self-protection are exposed in the heart, the Holy Spirit shines a debilitating dose of his light into our darkness that kills the weeds of addictions and self-preservation tactics. We are left naked, undone, open and bare. Which if dealt with in the hands of a loving God; Perfect Love, replaces the empty space; all of it to overflowing. I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, Perfect Love casts out all fear.” We are set free from the chains of fear and we come into deep repentance regarding our authority issue and face our deepest fear, The Living God. Who casts out all fear with his perfect love. Our biggest fear, submitting to God’s authority when done, diminishes all other fears. We can then begin doomsday prepping like no other. Storing up in freedom...to love him and others with the perfect love he gives. The message of self and the world is self-protection. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is self-denial. Having an others focus, an oozing joyful love that’s not based on circumstance or others attitudes, beliefs, or decisions. We love much because we know we are a people who have been forgiven much. Out of deep repentance comes deep reconciliation. Weather through life or death we can now make choices to bring glory to his name and look forward to the day we will stand in his presence with our stored up treasure that moth and rust could never destroy. We have not been made perfect yet as it states in Philippians 3:12 “ Not that I have already obtained all of this or have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of for me, brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
What the world thought would be doomsday becomes the best day when the saved soul takes up residence in the perfection of eternity in Heaven with Jesus. When the day comes to your life and you stand before the living God with nothing left uncovered what will your treasure look like? Will you stand in regret with only things that moth and rust destroyed? Or will you stand with the deep unseen treasures of Heaven: Jesus, The Holy Spirit of the living God who worked his resurrection power through your heart and life with jewels of witness, giving, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, a laying down of your life for others? Times a wasting what are you prepping?
"Behold, I am coming soon and my reward is with Me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." -Jesus Revelation 22:12
