Relying on God For Your Physical Needs

Imagine waking up to a world vastly different than the one you fell asleep in. Most of what you had is gone, and that which is left will perish in a short time. I’m talking about a world where the grid goes down. Communication is cut off from family in distant states, there is no internet, no power, and you have batteries in your radio, but no stations tune in. You know that travel is limited to the amount of gas in your car, and when it runs out, you have a $30,000 hunk of metal and plastic. Everything in your refrigerator will be spoiled in eight hours, then you’re left with the canned food and bread that are left in your cabinets. When that runs out in a few days, then what? Should you have listened to your crazy prepper friend who warned you this day would come? Should you panic? Maybe your prepper friend was right, but don’t worry, it’s not time to freak out. You have everything you need and the most important lines of communication are still open. The communication I’m referring to is prayer. You may think that this is just a common response from a Christian. Perhaps you’ve prayed for things in the past and those prayers went unanswered. You may feel that God hasn’t listened to you in the past and question why He would start now. However, God knows what we need and He will always provide. To receive His provisions, we need to have faith.

You may have heard of Paul. He was an apostle who wrote thirteen books (letters) of the New Testament in the Holy Bible. Paul had a “thorn” in his side. The specific nature of this “thorn” is unclear. However, when he asked God to remove it, God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9) This answer is the same for us, even in our post-apocalyptic, gridless world. Grace is a gift from God that we don’t deserve, and it is by grace we have been saved. (Ephesians 2:8) By grace, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins, and through Him we can enter into Heaven. (John 3:16)

But wait, how does this help me in this world with no electricity and a limited food supply? How does this help sustain my physical body and keep me from dying of starvation? The answer is, faith. God doesn’t promise us tomorrow. James writes, “ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14) Everything we are enduring today and will endure throughout our lifetime is but a blip in contrast to eternity. James goes on to say, “Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15) We must remember, the Lord’s will shall be done. Whether we fall dead today, starve to death in a week, or learn to adapt and live a full life, the Lord’s will shall be done, and it is our duty to seek to do His will until we take our last breath.

If you think waking up in this doomed world was a change, imagine waking up in eternity. When you close your eyes for the last time here on earth, you will wake up in a spiritual realm. How we face our challenges will determine what that realm looks like. Will you face them with fear, panic, and worry, dependent on yourself and what the world provides, or will you face them with faith, knowing that God’s will shall be done and you submitted to Him, seeking direction? In John 6:35, Jesus says, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’.” Some may look to this and think that as long as we received God’s gift of grace, then He will provide us food. However, Jesus isn’t talking about bread and water to sustain our physical bodies, He's talking about sustenance for our spirits. Jesus is letting us know that our spiritual wellness is of utmost importance. Furthermore, 1 John 2:17 reads, “ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” This world will pass and everything on it will be gone one day. Whether you die today or live the rest of your life, it’s a short time compared to eternity. Where will you wake up when your physical body passes? Will you do the will of God or worry about things that may not survive the night?