If you have been reading this blog since I began writing in 2011, you will have seen the scope of my journey. From the outset, I have had my eyes focused on the direction our nation and the world have been careening towards, and my ears and spirit tuned to the direction God has told me to go in the midst of it all. And I will tell you that there haven't been too many people who have understood how me and my husband can reconcile the two. This post is going to be neither super religious nor radical survivalist in nature. My hope is that it will encourage other people how to be "in this world, but not of this world".
But let me share an overview of my odyssey... it began as I came to terms with the plan to "fundamentally transform America" that was revealed in 2008. God had not yet disclosed the specific intention He had for our lives, so by 2012, I was writing to all those who were sensing the pressure and the distress of those uncertain times. I was discerning a distinct difference among my friends who were "awake." Everyone was pretty much on the "Prepper" page. The very essence of "preparing" meant we were pre-positioning assets for an undefined event (or crisis); whether it be a hurricane, an ice storm, a comet from outer space, a busted sewer line, grid-down situation, economic collapse, civil unrest, martial law, or terrorist event. We were no longer taking things for granted. We were storing supplies and making contingency plans to get through whatever was coming.
But I was also aware that there weren't enough beans and rice, guns and ammo, generators, or toilet paper to give people the peace of mind they were seeking in order to overcome every new threat to our freedom; or any new peril to our economy, environment or health anxieties that we were all experiencing. That only comes with trusting Jesus to help us persevere through the crazy, mixed up, evil world we're in. What we were experiencing was Biblical. It was foretold thousands of years ago through the Prophets, and just over two thousand years ago by the very One who will come to judge this wickedness and Evil. Make no mistake, I didn't believe in the axioms that some of my fellow Christians were promoting: "There is no need to prep at all. God will take care of us". I knew full well that He gave us a brain and discernment, and He expected us to use them. He didn't want us to sit idly by and do nothing; we were to prepare -- regarding food, defensive training, and spiritual warfare -- with the ultimate preparation focused on His return. That was in 2012.
By 2014, I had faced "the monster" after reading One Second After and The End of the World As We Know It. I confidently joined my husband in working out our plan, and preparing to make our plans work. We rid ourselves of any normalcy bias that still existed, and got on with life, determined not to live in fear or anxiety. But as the years of slow, steady decline progressed, we noticed that we [and many of our fellow Americans]
retreated somewhat from our initial level of enthusiasm and drive. The passage of time, with no extreme event, had deprived us of
our "edge". The very nature of becoming a Prepper was not to be comfortable ...
whether in the physical or spiritual aspect. Our mindset should always be
on expanding knowledge to save our lives.
When I look back over those years, I can see a shift in my thinking and my focus. I still wanted to make sure that my larder was full, and I had plenty of medical supplies on hand. I still wanted to be physically ready to defend myself, less wasteful, and more innovative in taking care of our needs... in other words, I still fit the "Prepper" description. But I was less concerned with worldly strategies, and more preoccupied with heavenly pursuits. I was thinking more about God, and less about myself.
And that brought my husband and myself to the place where God revealed His purpose for our lives and showed us how it fit into His redemptive plan. We were given a ministry to help people identify the wounds to their souls that kept them from knowing their true identity and purpose in Christ, whether that be due to their sins or sins that were committed against them -- including molestation, pornography, physical abuse, witchcraft, drug abuse, PTSD, etc. Jesus died to set the captives free, and He wanted to counter the lies they were believing from the Enemy with His truth. We have been blessed to help people receive that freedom by facilitating an encounter with their Savior to break that bondage. BUT we never stopped being awake to the deterioration of the nation, and we were soon called to our spiritual position as Watchmen on the Wall.
Because we can see clearly what the Lord is showing us, we know that Biblically, we are responsible to sound the alarm; to warn people to get prepared physically and spiritually for what is coming upon the earth. And as you can imagine, that doesn't make us very popular with people; neither the secular nor the religious, who can't conceive that Jesus would allow "that" to happen to us. However, to stick our heads in the sand, or to run away from the evidence that is before our eyes, is to deny what the Spirit is showing us. The nations are lining up for war. Lawlessness is growing throughout the land. Our national sovereignty is disappearing. Famine and plagues are threatening to decimate vast populations. Even the elements of nature are warning that upheaval could be imminent; nothing is as it has been. And last but not least, Good has become evil and Evil is now called good. But the Lord will not abandon those in covenant with Him!
Which is why, even as we are commissioned to see Satan's agenda on the earth and warn its inhabitants to get prepared, we are both more than thrilled to rejoice over the revival we all discern is springing up in increasing numbers. I know this presents a dichotomy between my life as a Watchman and my joy in this new revival movement. Many Christians and secular citizens have called me negative and anti-revival, but I am excited about this latest revival because I believe it is a lifeline of hope for Christians [new and old] who might now become spiritually ready [and strong enough] to prepare for the battles ahead. I believe God is on the move in both the realm of revival and spiritual battle preparedness.
That's why it is important that we, who call ourselves followers of Jesus, realize that we must battle this spiritual war on two fronts. First, we battle from a position of spiritual protection, just as Psalm 91 instructs us. In the shadow of, and under the wings of the Most High and Almighty God, we battle from a place of protection and safekeeping; fighting in the confidence of one who trusts the Name of the Lord of Hosts to defend him. This is how the shepherd boy, David went into battle against the giant, Goliath.
But, we also battle from a position of God's power and authority in the physical. If we trust that the battle is His, we can be bold, even in the midst of our fears of what is coming. We can release ourselves to Him to be used for the advancement of His Kingdom here on earth, no matter what it looks like or what is required of us... because we know that it will be accomplished in HIS strength and power. He just needs men and women who are willing to allow Him to work with [and through] them, and agree to be in covenant with Him to see His will done. We need not be afraid of the power of men on the earth; knowing that if God tells us to take that mountain, He will go before us and we will see our victory. We can defeat anything -- corrupt governments, disease and pestilence, evil domains, demonic entities -- if we will just have faith and do not doubt. We can trust, as did King David, that God has trained our hands for war and our fingers for battle. He will stretch out His hand and fortify us because we know His Name.
Sometimes it's hard for me to realize that it's been 12 years since the Lord caught my attention and gave me my marching orders. I have been given the privilege of spiritual discernment to see the events that are lining up for the future. The Enemy's forces are on the battlefield and advancing rapidly. But the Lord is showing the manifestation of His Glory in the hearts and lives of a new generation of Jesus lovers. I know God has been preparing me for this time and what's to come -- both the war and the victory. I will not be blind to the battle we're in, and I will be ready and equipped to fight on all fronts. But I will also embrace, endorse, and encourage the beautiful revival we see happening in our midst. And I will declare that the Glory of the Lord will prevail!
#gloryofthelord #spiritualdiscernment #watchmanonthewall #spiritualpreparedness #endtimes
Psalm 62:5-6 "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken."
