Prepared to Face the Future
Ryan McAdams
Introduction - We face incredibly challenging times and are confronted with the prospect of economic collapse,
natural disasters, war and the imminent unfolding of "end-time" events. Many Christians look at the “signs of the
times” and wonder what they should do and how they should be preparing for future hard times. This teaching will
examine this subject from a biblical viewpoint, and offer clear biblical guidance on this issue.
"Keep on the alert at all times ("watch") and pray that you may have strength to escape all these things that are
about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:36
I. Preparing spiritually is the first priority. There is no substitute for preparing our heart and drawing close to the
Lord in intimacy. We must all walk very closely to the Lord in this hour, for He is our strength and our deliverance.
Jesus says that being alert and praying is the primary posture the Church is to take. We must be wide awake,
sober, alert to what is happening and prayerfully be before the Lord - actively getting oil in our lamps and
partnering with Him in intercession. "Pray that you have the ability to escape the things about to take place."
II. Two primary views Christians have concerning natural preparation.
1. Simply "Trust God" - These Christians generally believe that you should not focus on preparing in any
significant and practical way and that we should rely on the Lord to take care of us.
2. Prepare in faith and trust God for the rest - These Christians believe we should prepare for trying times
that are coming to the best of our ability and circumstances and rely on the Lord for the rest.
"A wise man foresees danger and takes precautions. The fool goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
Proverbs 22:3
III. Generally, the Bible says you are wise if you foresee trouble and prepare for it. Rationally, Christians make
sensible preparations all the time. We hope and pray that we will be safe in our cars and homes, but we invest in
car insurance and renters or home insurance because we foresee the real danger of calamity and we want to
prepare for that eventuality. Christians that live on a coastline and know that a strong hurricane is approaching
prepare and take appropriate measures. Christians that live in tornado country logically create a plan and head for
a basement or shelter when the news comes that a tornado is heading for their city.
If Christians take such reasonable measures to prepare for any impending natural disaster, why should they not
also make reasonable preparations for a prophesied danger that is imminent?
IV. Biblical Examples of Saints Preparing in Advance after a warning from God
Noah - God told Noah to make preparations for the flood by building an Ark (Genesis 6). Noah obeyed God in faith
and built the Ark. There was divine purpose in the preparations - Noah and his family (along with species of
animals, birds, etc.) were spared because Noah made advance preparations in faith.
Joseph - Pharaoh received a dream which Joseph interpreted that God was warning that seven years of
tremendous surpluses would be followed by seven years of terrible crop failures. Joseph was exalted to become
Regent of Egypt to supervise the food storage program for Egypt so the nation could survive the years of crop
failures (Genesis 41). If Joseph and Egypt had not prepared for the extended drought by storing immense
stockpiles of food, the Egyptians and Israelites would have starved.
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Prepared to Face the Future
Ryan McAdams
In both biblical stories, it would have been a severe lack of faith to refuse to make necessary preparations when
God gave the advance warning about the calamity coming. Choosing not to make advance preparations when God
has warned of an impending disaster is to place your own life and your family’s lives in great jeopardy.
New Testament example in Acts 11:28-30 - A prophet named Agabus received a warning from God that a “great
famine” was coming in the near future. The early Christian Church took the warning seriously and responding by
making advance preparations. The elders gathered up food supplies and sent Barnabas and Saul (later named
“Paul”) to deliver the food to the brethren in Judea so they could survive the prophesied famine.
Again, we see the believers took the warning seriously and made advance preparations. There was no hint in any of
these three examples that anyone thought the right approach was to “stand still and do nothing.” Both Old and
New Testaments are consistent that when God warns his people about an impending danger, He expects them to
show faith by acting on his warning and preparing for it.
V. Present Day Warnings and Our Response Most of us believe that the events we are seeing now are fulfilling
prophecies about the “latter days” and that we are in the generation of the Lord's Return. The Bible has warnings
about the many hardships we will face - war, famine, natural disasters, economic chaos, persecution.
If as Christians we believe we are approaching the looming dangers and disasters coming upon the earth in the
latter days, we are in a situation where God would logically expect us to heed his warnings in faith and not "in fear"
and make advance preparations for the dangers as best we can. I believe Christians today are in the same situation
that faced Noah, Joseph and the early Christians in the time of Paul and Agabus. They all took God’s warning
seriously and made necessary advance preparations. That is the response that modern believers should also take
today because we have also been told in advance through God’s Word and also through prophetic revelation that
many dangers are coming. To do nothing and "trust God" without preparing is not a true form of faith, but in my
estimation actually unbelief, foolishness and presumption.
The extent to which you prepare depends on your relationship with God, the means you have to prepare, the
location in which you live, etc. We obviously will not be able to prepare for everything. What is coming is so
apocalyptic that regardless of what we do, we will need to be dependent on God for our physical protection and
the necessities of life. However, God does expect us to make reasonable preparations to the best of our ability and
leave the rest to Him (miracles of provision beyond our preparation).
"Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do."
1 Chronicles 12:32
God is calling us to be like the sons of Issachar who are sought out because they understand the times and know
what to do. We are to be spiritually, mentally and physically prepared, so that we are part of God's solution to help
others in their time of need and stress. Mike Bickle says, "God's gift to an unprepared world is a prepared Church."
1. Get Revelation - Taking action to prepare for what is coming should be an obedient response to God's direction.
Seek the Lord in prayer and listen to what He says to you. In each biblical case mentioned above, REVELATION
preceded PREPARATION. Preparation is an obedient response to what God is saying.
2. Prepare from a position of faith - Biblical preparing must always flow out of our faith in God and love for others
- not from fear, self-sufficiency or selfishness ("bunker mentality").
3. Awaken others - We are all better off if the Church is more prepared. We have a responsibility to share.
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