We Must Heed The Warning Signs
It’s important to pay attention to warning signs. They are there for a reason…to warn us of dangerous situations ahead. When our engine light goes on in our car, we know that there is a serious problem that needs our attention. When we see yellow lights flashing, it means caution. Why is it we can’t see the warning signs God is flashing before us? They are all there, just open up the paper or listen to the news. Line it up with the Word of God. When I look at the news I see headlines such as “World Markets Plunge” and “Global Markets Rattled” which if you’ve been keeping up with financial news, things aren’t great. We’ve also seen headlines about gay/lesbian marriages now considered legal. Sexual immorality is rampant as we are encouraged to have affairs as we now see with the Ashley Madison news. Terrorism around the world is growing at an alarming rate and violence and anger continue to spread. The weather is changing as well and food prices are skyrocketing due to illness with animals that have to be put to death so as not to spread. People are feeling the effects of the economic problems and are finding it hard to make ends meet. This doesn’t seem like much unless you have been watching it steadily rise and reading the Word of God. Our world is not the same and the further away it moves from God the more what is happening becomes accepted as “normal”.
God has been telling us throughout time that we must get our hearts right with Him because time is short. He has sent His servants out over time to spread the gospel and warn the people that time is short and that He wants us to be with Him, offering His free gift of salvation. But time and again that gift, along with God, is turned down.
The warning signs are getting more frequent and time is running out to get right with God. When we get right with God, our eyes open up to His warning signs and allows us to prepare both spiritually and physically. We look for warning signs in the weather, watching the patterns and when a storm is brewing, we have meteorologists who warn us to prepare. When the storm is close, they continue to warn us and we hear the words “seek shelter”. When we seek shelter and we prepare our homes with supplies, we do this so we can weather the storm until it’s over. When we fail to listen and heed the warnings, we end up struggling and not having what we need and fear sets in. The same is true spiritually. When we have accepted Christ and our eyes are open and we stay close to Him, becoming obedient to His Word, He warns us ahead of time of impending danger and when and how we should prepare. We see this with Noah. The world in Noah’s time:
Genesis 6:5
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:11 and 12
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
God was grieved by this as we can read in vs 6. But he found a righteous man and his family and gave this man, Noah, a warning of what was to come. It was years prior to this impending storm that was coming, but God told Noah to build an ark, giving him directions on how to build it and what to supply it with. Noah listened. I’m sure people mocked him as he built it but he didn’t let their words stop him. He listened to God and was obedient, which saved him, his family, and two of every animal on the earth.
How many times has God warned you to get right with Him? Has He called you to Him but you didn’t listen and instead allowed other things to take your focus away. How many times may He have warned you of impending danger but you didn’t heed the signs? No one believed in what Noah was doing because if they did, they would have been saved from the disastrous storm that was coming. Instead they went on with their lives, eating, drinking, marrying…such were the days of Noah. When the ark was finished and prepared with everything the Lord required to be in it for survival, then the storm hit.
There is a disastrous storm coming. No, we aren’t going to get wiped out by another flooding of the earth. God made that clear after the waters receded and made a covenant with Noah that He will never again destroy the earth by flooding it and set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of that covenant. This storm, however, will be a difficult one and if we aren’t prepared for it, many will not make it. It will shake the nation and possibly the world to its core. God has been warning many to build and prepare the ark. No, not an actual ark, but a spiritual one. He has been calling people to get close to Him but many have been lured away through the deception of what the world offers and through the deception of the enemy by those things. By keeping us entertained with things of this world, we become blind to what is really happening until it’s too late.
This isn’t written to scare you, but to warn you of a disastrous storm that is coming that is almost upon us, but if you prepare your heart you can get through it. This requires accepting God’s gift of salvation and then getting close to Him. This requires obedience to His Word and reading it daily, making time with Him. This requires turning away from sin and turning to godliness. I didn’t say perfection because none of us are perfect, only Christ. But turning away from things we know are wrong to be doing. The only way to make it through storms is to take shelter in a safe and secure place. God is your storm shelter. He is safe and secure, a strong tower in times of trouble.
Psalm 61:3
For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.
Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
When we are in the shelter of the Lord, He will protect us and lead us in the right direction. In that shelter we will be provided for and no matter what is happening on the outside, we will not be affected. Don’t get me wrong, we can feel some of the effects of a storm such as no electricity which can mean losing all the comfortable things we are use too such as tv, internet, heat, hot water, etc. But if we listened to the warnings that were given out and we prepared our homes for the storm, we will safely get through it and have the necessities we need.
Getting right with God is the first way to get prepared for any storm or trial. Stay close to Him and He will stay close to you. Pray and read the Word of God to build up your strength as you will need reserve strength. The second way is by listening to the warning signs and preparing for it just as you would for any storm that may come.
Fear is not an option for the Word of God states in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. When we are with God and close to Him, we will not have fear of trials and tribulations and of things we can’t control. But when we are not close to Him, then these situations will overwhelm us like a Tsunami and drown us.
God is our life vest of faith. Let God be your faith. The Word of God states that to be saved one must do the following:
Romans 10:9
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
If you have not received Christ as your Lord and Savior and would like to receive His wonderful gift of salvation, which is a free gift, but worry that you are too “bad” for Him to accept you, that is a lie of the enemy for the Word of God states in Romans 10:13:
“For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
What do you have to do to be saved? Simply repent of your sins. Acknowledge your sins before God, taking responsibility for them, and admit that you are a sinner and ask for His forgiveness. Ask Him to cleanse you. Admit out loud that you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead and that you want Him in your life and your heart. When you have done this, consider yourself a saved child of the Lord! No jumping through hoops “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:5). There’s only one catch…you must truly believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead. You can’t just say the words. God knows a sincere heart. Now commit to doing the will of God and following His Word. Read the bible daily and spend time with God getting to know Him and what He wants from you. What does He want? Your love, time and obedience just like any parent. God will show you many things in His Word as it is your GPS!