Is “Prepping” Biblical?

Is “Prepping” Biblical?

Q.In Luke 22:36 the Lord told the disciples to prepare themselves for their upcoming life in ministry. Also, in Matthew 24: 15-25 Israel is warned how to respond to coming dangers at the Mid Tribulation point. What I have not been able to find is any reason for the church to stock up and prepare, beyond a reasonable amount, for difficult times we may endure before the rapture. Wouldn’t Jesus have warned us as well if this is the case? Am I just missing it or is “prepping” actually a lack of faith in the Lord’s ability to protect and provide for his children?

A. Like you, I haven’t found any Biblical support for what’s being called “prepping”. On the contrary the Bible repeatedly calls on us to be generous in sharing what we have (2 Cor. 9:6), and not to worry about tomorrow, but to trust in the Lord for our provision (Matt. 6:31-33). Rather than storing up excess here on Earth we’re to exchange it for “treasure in Heaven” (Matt. 6:19-21). And remember, when these things were written discretionary income was nearly unheard of. Most people struggled just to get by.

Rather than calling it a lack of faith, I think of prepping as a human reaction to an uncertain future borne our of our need for self-reliance. If we were only looking toward a temporary time of difficulty it would be more understandable, but the way I understand it when things start to really go bad they will never get better.

Learning to live by faith takes some time, so the best way to prepare for hard times is to start practicing before it becomes necessary. And truth be told, living by faith is something we should have been doing all along.
posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/is-prepping-biblical/ 

 Faith Or Fear, Follow Up

Q. In response to “Faith or Fear” I certainly understand everyone’s natural fear for the future what with all the events happening in our world today. Your short response of essentially: “don’t worry, have faith … God will provide” bothered me greatly. Yes, we are to maintain a solid faith in our Lord and His faithful provision for His own. However; there should be a balance. I believe He expects us to be “Preppers” once He has forewarned us! What’s wrong with preparing for the future with whatever wisdom you have? I can think of several times that the Lord sent word to His people to prepare. Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David were all given warnings and told to prepare. It’s a godly thing to prepare. Being a “Prepper” is stepping out in faith. I’m a Berean.

A. The response I gave, “don’t worry, have faith … God will provide” was a direct quote from Jesus (Matt. 6:31-33).

Bereans searched the scripture to find the truth. What you’ve done is searched the scripture to find verses that justify your opinion. None of them are comparable because all of them concerned a temporary condition on Earth. What we’re dealing with is a permanent departure to Heaven.

Saying there needs to be a balance is like saying we need to mix faith with self reliance, which is not Biblical. If you want to exercise your faith by preparing, then stop storing up treasure on Earth and start storing it up in heaven (Matt. 6:19-20), because that’s where you’re going.

posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/faith-or-fear-follow-up/ 

 Preparing For Hard Times Ahead

Q. Like everyone else, I’ve been intently watching the headlines, wondering what’s next for our country, our world. I’m a pre-trib believer, but I’m also realizing that my family is not prepared for the “tough times” we’ll probably experience before the Lord comes for us. I’m wondering if you could give some advice, insight, references regarding what we can do today to make sure we are as prepared as we can be regarding finances, food, fuel, etc. Like many others, money is a little tight for us right now; but I feel like I could be doing more to prepare us for what lies ahead.

A. The best preparation for the times ahead is building a stronger faith. We haven’t been promised an escape from hard times in general, just the last 7 years of them. So the most important thing to do is to practice living by faith. That doesn’t mean going on as if nothing is happening and then trusting God for the money,etc. It means taking everything to prayer, and not doing anything that you don’t feel specifically led by the Lord to do. It also means listening to His voice more carefully and being guided by it. This includes everything from non-essential purchases, changing jobs or moving, to responding to His promptings in your giving and evangelizing.

In the financial sense, it’s critical that you reduce spending and eliminate as much of your monthly debt obligation as possible. In tough times cash is king. Do whatever you can to stop discretionary spending and use that money to pay off things like credit card and other debt with variable or high interest. The more of your monthly income is necessary for debt repayment, the less freedom you have to react to sudden changes in your lifestyle. Simply put, it’s economic enslavement. The fact that it’s of our own making doesn’t make it any less so. If you’re not already doing so begin tithing immediately, not out of a sense of duty or obligation but as an act of gratitude for all that He’s given you. God loves a cheerful giver and will bless you for your faithfulness.

I’m not an advocate of hoarding. I think it demonstrates a lack of faith. God has promised that He will see to our needs if we seek Him. (Matt. 6:31-34) Where I live, the nearest grocery store is nearly an hour away, and when it rains the roads are impassable, so we keep a little extra on hand, but in my opinion the idea of trying to stock up a year or two worth of supplies demonstrates a lack of faith in the Lord’s willingness to keep His promise.

posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/preparing-for-hard-times-ahead/

More On Storing Up Food

Q. One of your posts said that in preparing for tough times ahead, that we shouldn’t “horde” things, and that storing up food or supplies to last a year or two isn’t putting our trust in God. Since we see what we think is coming, shouldn’t we take these things as a warning to start “squirreling” away somethings for when times get worse? After all, Joseph was smart and helped Pharaoh store food for when the famine hit. If we make no preparations at all, isn’t that just asking to be enslaved even more when we see many signs in front of us that our economy is about to collapse?

A. First, let’s remember that Joseph required the people to bring their harvests into Pharaoh’s storehouses during the 7 good years and then he sold it back to them during the bad ones so they weren’t storing up things for themselves (Gen. 41:48,56).

The net result is that Pharaoh wound up owning all the wealth and property of Egypt and the people were effectively reduced to slavery (Gen 47:20-12). This can’t be used as a model for storing up against hard times.

The Bible doesn’t encourage us to store up things in preparation for hard times. Jesus said we should store up treasure in Heaven, not on Earth (Matt. 6:19-20). He clearly told us not to worry about the possibility of hard times. but to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. He said if we did this, God would provide all our needs (Matt. 6:25-34).

Also, food storage is meant to be the solution to a temporary problem. The coming hard times will not be temporary, so people will not be able to store up enough to get through them. Learning to learn to live by faith is a much better solution.

posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/3924/

The Famine In Egypt

Q. In your article entitled, “And All These Things Will Be Given To You As Well” you said, “No matter how we try to justify it, storing up is an act of selfishness”; I have to disagree. Of course the Bible speaks out about “hoarding” and “not sharing/helping others” but it also speaks out about preparing for possible rough times to come. I have attached an article by (another Christian writer) for your information. It’s about the lesson on preparation for hard times from the Famine of Egypt. It pretty much “hits the nail on the head” regarding the topic.

A. I think the writer ( and apparently you) missed the real meaning of the story of Joseph and the Famine of Egypt. To understand it, see how the story ended. Remember, this was a government mandated storage plan into which the people were required to contribute 20% of their crops during the good years. When the famine came they had to buy back the food they had contributed. When all was said and done, Pharaoh had taken possession of their money, their land, their livestock, their seed for the next crop, their very lives. He had reduced the people to servitude, totally dependent on him for their existence (Genesis 47:20-21).

At the end of the story the only free people left in Egypt were the 70 members of the family of Jacob (Joseph’s father). They had not contributed to the government sponsored storage plan, but had been blessed greatly. Beside Pharaoh and the priests they had become the only remaining landowners in all of Egypt. How did this happen? God had used this event to reconcile Joseph to His brothers. They sought him in their time of need, depended on him, and were blessed.

There are over 100 references in the Book of Genesis that show how Joseph’s life was a foreshadowing of the Lord’s. One lesson from the story of the famine is that it demonstrates His promise to us in the Sermon on the Mount.

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. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:31-33).

In the soon coming hard times many of those who depend on the ways of the world will lose everything. But those who seek the Lord’s kingdom and depend on Him will be blessed.

posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-famine-in-egypt/