[NICOLE STEVENSON]
I vividly remember sitting in my friend Sarah’s bedroom looking out her picture windows into the woods that surrounded her home. She was telling me how she was learning to survive in the woods during the “time of trouble” when Adventists would be hunted by our government and other Christians for keeping Sabbath. Sarah was a member of the local Pathfinders Club and was learning which plants were edible and which were poisonous.
As I listened I thought about how privileged she was to have all she did. A beautiful home, married parents, a long history in the same town with the security of knowing she’d always be near other Adventists—she wouldn’t have to run away alone. Yet, even if she were alone, she’d be able to survive because of her preparation and special training.
With all my moving and instability and my single mother’s lack of commitment to Adventist communities, I had no assurances that I’d be able to run with other Adventists, or that if I had to go alone that I’d be able to survive when the fleeing time came. I remember wishing I could join Pathfinders so that I could be as prepared as possible.
True to form for my life, I had several more moves after eighth grade; I attended multiple schools inside and outside of Adventism, and I had no home church and no stability. The less contact I had with the Adventists, the less I worried about being ready for the time of trouble, but now and then when news headlines flurried with scary political events or natural disasters, I grew anxious knowing I had no way to get to the hills let alone to survive in them. Surviving the “time of trouble” felt like the great final test of Charle’s Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory—I stood no chance of outperforming anyone. I was on my own, and I knew that I couldn’t count on myself.
Rookie Gardener and Endless Watering
In recent years I became interested in gardening herbs and veggies. I’ve always enjoyed growing flowers, but I wanted to begin growing things I could enjoy in the kitchen. The first summer I attempted my new hobby, I grew plants in containers which demanded a lot of water. You could find me outdoors morning and evening during our Southern California summers filling our pots and hoping for the best. While it demanded consistent time from me, I didn’t mind; it was time I could pause and be outdoors listening to the water, watching the hummingbirds and butterflies drawn to our porch, praying, and inspecting the fruiting flowers and the progress of the plants. So often the lessons of Scripture that use agricultural realities would come to mind as I worked. I loved it!
I realized quickly, however, that if I missed even one watering, the plants suffered. Flowers would drop, and sometimes the whole plant would die.
I realized quickly, however, that if I missed even one watering, the plants suffered. Flowers would drop, and sometimes the whole plant would die. As summer went on my plants often endured a few too many missed waterings, or they’d be overtaken by various pests I didn’t know how to control. Sometimes they even had too much growth to produce fruit. I wasn’t very good at gardening, but I pressed on through summer and harvested whatever I could—very much enjoying the routine.
I continued with container gardening for several summers until recently when my husband built me a garden. He put a good deal of effort, time, and expense into this gift. He designed and built large raised beds contained in a covered run meant for keeping chickens in order to protect it from local animal life. He layered the beds and the entire run with weed fabric, metal fabric (to keep pests out) and then made me pathways of gravel. Finally he bought our favorite nursery’s most recommended soil blends and fertilizer mixtures. We also used rabbit manure from our rabbitry, and then I planted away.
From Hobby to Panic?
While it’s true that all of these provisions didn’t magically make me a better gardener, they gave me the edge I needed to begin learning how to yield higher harvests. After all the work my husband put into this garden, I was committed to learning how to improve as a gardener, but I was fully aware that there were no guarantees. I had no illusions of becoming self-sustaining!
As I’ve met typical summer hurdles I’ve taken to YouTube to learn from experienced gardeners. Most recently I enjoyed watching a gardener teach me how to prune my eggplant and was fascinated by his vertical garden (a goal for next year!). It was the end of his video that startled me and broke my heart for him. He signed off calling himself the LDS Prepper and then said, “…Because if you’re prepared you don’t have to fear.”
When I went to YouTube for instruction on pruning, I was given great life advice for the garden. It was rooted in truth about crop husbandry, but it was not without the tainting and distraction of a false worldview. My reaction was familiar. The man’s ominous comments had the potential of taking the blessing out of my time in the garden and instead planting within me a works-based focus that depended upon me for my survival. It threatened to take the joy out of the work and replace it with anxiety over my lack of experience and expertise in the apparently brief calm before the promised impending storm. If my ability to garden was a qualifier in yet another “survival of the fittest” test, I was once again in trouble!
The Elitism of The Survival of the Fittest
If the worldview of this man was all I saw online that morning, my mind would have contextualized it as the sad reality of the cults who don’t know God. Unfortunately, this wasn’t all I saw. At the end of his video, YouTube began recommending a flurry of other videos warning of dire times ahead and insisting that godly people must begin preparing and storing food.
Some were even shaming their audience in advance with comments like, “Don’t come to me when this happens because I warned you ahead of time.
The advice to be prepared with extra food isn’t what disturbed me; there’s nothing wrong with being aware of approaching famine (this is biblical) or of attempting to prepare for it (also biblical). What was disturbing to me were the many folks who were linking it with one’s faithfulness to God and His word. Some were even shaming their audience in advance with comments like, “Don’t come to me when this happens because I warned you ahead of time. You need to listen to me, God wants you to know these things…now! Wake up and be faithful!”.
Immediately the sarcastic thoughts came, Well, lucky me, it’s a good thing I was privileged enough to have internet and YouTube so I could get this message from God. Hard to believe God depends on internet algorithms to warn the “chosen”. Again that afternoon at Sarah’s house in 1992 came flooding back to me, and the words of the LDS prepper echoed behind them, “…because if you’re prepared you don’t have to fear…”. I was quickly reminded of my Adventist worldview which promoted the idea that God only helps those who help themselves.
The Futility of Resting in Human Effort
As a hobby gardener, chicken keeper, and rabbitry owner, I know very well that I depend on so many other factors to do well at any one of these things. The successes of my yields and litters are determined by various factors, some of which have nothing to do with me. The extent of my knowledge of the needs of the plants and animals I care for, the weather, water from my city pipes over which I have no control, the local plant nursery for pest control products, feed stores for pellets, hay, and other necessities—even the sounds on the city streets can affect the wellbeing of my rabbits. My ability to succeed in caring for my garden, my chickens, and my rabbitry is ultimately dependent upon the world around me which is ultimately in the hands of God, no matter how much I prepare or educate myself.
In a chaotic world such as ours, the idea of being “self-sustaining” can be a comforting idea; but it’s simply not attainable for every image bearer on the planet. What about the orphaned, impoverished, and elderly? In all of people’s angst to prepare for the worst, how are they putting their efforts toward true religion—to look after orphans and widows in their distress?
Being sustainable or perfectly prepared for all possible approaching crisis events has nothing to do with whether or not one is faithful to God. In point of fact, no human or human system is “self-sustaining”. That attribute belongs to God alone. No matter how well we prepare, we will always come to the end of our supply. At some point, we will all need to trust God with the next day’s portion.
God is God Even in Famine
Jesus words recorded in Matthew 6:25-34 are instructive for us when we consider what, or rather Who sustains us. Lets look at it in small sections.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
The Got Questions Website has a wonderful piece addressing this passage. In their article dealing with the question of why famine exists in the world they write:
In understanding this passage, it’s important to identify what Jesus is not teaching and what He is. Jesus is not teaching the miraculous eradication of worldwide hunger and poverty. In fact, Jesus later said that ‘you will always have the poor among you’ (Mark 14:7, NLT). He is not issuing a blanket promise that everyone in the world will always have the staples of life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is specifically addressing His disciples, not the general public (Matthew 5:1–2); that is, He is speaking to those who were committed to Him and had made His teaching the basis of their lives. Those who follow Christ are not to be anxious about food and clothing.
Even to His disciples, Jesus is not promising a constant, uninterrupted supply of food, drink, and clothing. He is only teaching in Matthew 6:32 that God in heaven is aware of all their needs. The knowledge of God’s awareness of our needs is meant to have a calming effect in our lives. There is no circumstance in which our worry is validated. We may lack certain necessities for a time, but we do not fret, complain, or resort to worldly scheming.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
It’s worth noticing here that Jesus doesn’t say that it’s their lack of preparing that reflects their little faith but rather their worry about needs being unmet.
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
As I read Jesus say, “For the pagans run after all these things…” I am reminded of the messages behind the warnings peppering my “recommended videos” category on YouTube. Jesus isn’t saying here that His people don’t need these things. He is saying He knows they do. What He is doing here is drawing a distinction between faith that knows God will provide, and a lack of faith that “runs after” their needs. Their needs drive their priorities in thought, speech, and activity.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
The gospel changes everything. Not only does the gospel pronounce us alive and saved, it tells us we’ve been adopted and that we are now under the guardianship of the God of the universe. This ought to change how we think, how we talk to others about world events, and how we apply what we know to our activities and our life.
Jesus also tells us in Matthew 5:14-16 that we “…are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
When we run after the things the pagans do, we are effectively placing our light under a basket and joining rank and file with those who don’t know what God has done or know what He promises for His people. Our good works ought not promote extra-biblical ideas about God or the world; they ought to cause others to glorify the God of Heaven for who He is and What He’s done, not us for what we know or what we’re doing.
We are to pray about our anxieties and to let our reasonableness be known to everyone.
Scripture calls the born again to set our minds on the things above where Christ is. We are to take every thought captive unto Christ. We are to pray about our anxieties and to let our reasonableness be known to everyone. That means we don’t measure the spiritual faithfulness of others according to how concerned they are about what concerns us, like those YouTube prophets did. Certainly we can and must share our concerns, but we ought to bring our reasonableness to our conversations and inform them with Scripture and with trust in God, with prayer, and with faith in His goodness and sovereign care for us. We are to edify the church with timeless Biblical truths and abide there with the Lord. As we do this, He works in and around our lives to provide for us and lead us one step at a time in the direction of obedience.
God’s provision is accessible to everyone who will trust Him. It is not reserved for a privileged few—such as those who watch YouTube, or the people who have the kind of home where they can garden, raise chickens, or store excess groceries in a temperature-controlled environment. It’s not only for those who have privileged information, or for those who have an all-expenses-paid membership to the Pathfinders Club where they receive survival training along with gnostic prophecies to drive their commitment to excellence.
The kind of provision God offers us is not dependent upon our faithfulness, our location, our gifting, or our special intel. It’s dependent upon our faithful God and His saving gospel alone.
True Wisdom is Gospel-Focused
There is nothing wrong with having an understanding of the world around us and living wisely in that context. There is nothing wrong with heeding credible warnings and preparing for possible problems. There is Biblical precedence for this preparation; there is wisdom in it. It is faithful to be a diligent steward of what God gives us. I hope I won’t be misunderstood. However, my prayer for us all during this time is that we would not be so distracted by these strange events in our world and the demands of the secular survivalists that we forget what we tell the unbelieving world about our God.
We tell them that He is sovereign, that He is good. We tell that He is omniscient and omnipotent. We tell them that, for those who believe, He is a faithful Father. He is Jehovah Jira (the Lord will provide). He is the One in charge of all events in human history, from human government to the natural events around us. Our proclamations must inform our praxis.
The God of the Bible knows our every thought, our every need, our every worry, and He asks us to remember the Sabbath rest He has given to His people. God’s redemption is fixed, and His commitment to us is far more than we can imagine! He promises to be with us unto the very end of the age. He doesn’t promise that the age will be without trouble, or that it will be easy, or that we won’t endure hardships.
Even as our apostle Paul endured shipwreck and famine, God was with him unto the end. He escorted him into His presence at the time God appointed for him to go home. On this side of Paul’s life what we remember about him and what we thank God for is Paul’s faithful, encouraging, live-giving, consistent message of the gospel which he preached until his last days on earth—no matter what the natural or political world threw at him.
May we be gospel-focused in our thinking, speaking, and action. May we use caution when listening to others who may provide pieces of truth about some things but who do not know the God we know. We can hear the truths they speak without embracing the contagion of their hopeless fear. It is our privilege to live inside the peace that our Lord Jesus has given us as we rest in and entrust our lives to Him alone. “…Because if you trust God, you don’t have to fear.” †
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