I love watching the weather, and I always have. I have always said that instead of becoming a nurse, I should have been a meteorologist. My hometown recently had terrible weather from a hurricane. My parents had twenty trees down in their yard. Storms can often bring unexpected destruction. I remember watching the Weather Channel days before the storm was set to make landfall. They were telling everyone near the coast to fill sandbags, get supplies, and stay tuned for updates. Having lived on the coast in the past, I can tell you that many people do not listen about preparation. Hours before landfall, people begin to panic when they get to Walmart, and the bottled water is sold out; they can’t find a loaf of bread anywhere, and lines at the gas pump are down the street. Even though everyone knew it was coming because the Weather Channel had been saying so for days, no one started preparing until the last minute, resulting in chaos and leaving people without what they needed.
I started thinking about when the Lord returns. He is, and has been, warning us for years about what is coming through His Word. Not only does the Lord warn us, but He also provides a way to escape the catastrophe coming upon this earth one day, and a glorious plan for us to live with Him for all eternity. The Word says in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved.”
Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 25:1-13 about 10 virgins awaiting the bridegroom. It says, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” This parable serves as a warning to be spiritually alert, faithful, and prepared for the return of Jesus.
I read comments on Facebook the other day underneath a Christian post, and people were saying, “There is no heaven or hell; it’s just a myth,” and “When we die, we just are no more.” Those comments made me so sad. These are real people who are so deceived. I pray that God’s Holy Spirit will draw them and lead them to know Jesus as their Savior before it is too late. We are not promised tomorrow.
Matthew 24:42-44 says, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
If you have anyone you care about who does not know Jesus as their Savior, I want to share a scripture that I pray daily over unsaved people that I know. It is Jeremiah 24:7, and it says, Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; And they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
I actually put their names in the Scripture. I pray, “Lord, I thank You that You are giving (name of person) a heart to know You, and that You are the Lord. I thank You that (name of person) will be Yours, and You will be (name of person)’s God. I thank you that (name of person) shall return to You with their whole heart.”
Praying Scripture, which is God’s word, is very effective because it is living and active. God even says in Isaiah 55:11, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
I truly believe that as we faithfully pray God’s Word over them, that they will come to know Him. He is faithful to fulfill His word. Jeremiah 1:12 says, Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [actively] watching over My word to fulfill it.” (AMP)
The only way to be prepared for the Lord’s return, or our appointed time of death, whichever happens first, is to confess our sins to Jesus, ask Him to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, ask Him to come into our heart, and be the Lord of our life. The moment we truly repent and accept Him, He sends the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God Himself) to live inside of us. From that moment on, our lives are different. Things we used to do, places we used to go, and things we used to watch or listen to now feel wrong, because we are a new creation in Christ, and the Holy Spirit leads us. Now, we have the assurance that should we die today, we will be with Jesus for eternity. This makes us prepared.
Let me say here that God said in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous (good), no, not one.” We have all sinned. We are not saved because we are good enough to be saved. We are saved ONLY because of the sacrifice that Jesus made by dying on the cross for our sins. This is the only way we can obtain mercy (not getting the punishment we deserve) and grace (undeserved favor). Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” I say this because sometimes people think that things they have done are too bad for God to forgive. That is a lie from Satan. We serve a loving God who wants everyone to be prepared to meet Him. If you do not know Him and you are reading this, please consider eternity and where you will spend it. We cannot be good enough to get to heaven; Jesus is the only way.
We should never shrug off that feeling of the Lord dealing with our heart. His warnings come from a heart of love, and His invitation to salvation is a gift we do not want to ignore. If you do not know Jesus, come to Him today, just as you are. If you do know Him, keep praying for your loved ones and sharing His love while there is still time. We do not know when He will come, but we can know the One who is coming. Let’s be prepared—not filled with fear, but with faith, peace, and joyful expectation.
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