12 Scriptural Ways to Stay Vigilant in the Dark and Unknown Times

During worship at church recently, I had a vision where I was looking down an abyss of darkness. I could hear great confusion, anxiety, fear and panic. I could hear people yelling, screaming, crying and bumping into each other because they could not even see in front of them.

I asked the Holy Spirit who these people were, and He told me that they were the lost and the lukewarm and carnal Christians, mixed and intertwined with the unbelievers in a state of confusion and deception. Because of the darkness, I could not tell one from the other, but they sounded the exact same.

Then I looked up, and I saw true and committed followers of Jesus like a string of lights connected by extension cords to one power source of light. As long as they stayed plugged in, there was direction, peace, clarity and hope. Many people below in darkness could see the light if they wanted to, but many were so focused on their fear they would not look up. However, some saw the light and reached up to connect to the other extension cords and were lifted out of the darkness.

As we face uncertain times and current and pending global-wide shutdowns once again, it is easy to fall into fear and hopelessness. The Holy Spirit is urging believers to not succumb to fear and the “stay safe” movement. While we always follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit for wisdom, and we continue to face this pandemic and pending changes of leadership and direction in our nations, we must stay plugged into God’s promises and stay faithful. My senior pastor, Dr. Jamie Morgan, encouraged believers to shift from the “stay safe” mentality to the “stay ready” mentality.

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be bold like men, and be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13).

We as the church need to continue to repent of placing our trust in ourselves and people other than Almighty God. We need to renounce fear, doubt, pride and offense and need to remember who we are and Whose we are.

Yes, God can and will continue to use leaders in our country and nations to carry out His will. However, many in the church have shifted into an almost idolatry worship and dependence on people and themselves instead of turning and focusing their complete trust on God.

—God alone is the one who will lead us.

—God alone is the one who will direct us.

—God alone is the one who will save, deliver and protect us.

—God alone is the one who is going to restore us.

—God alone is our source of power and light to help us get ready and stay ready.

We need to put our total trust in Him and not in ourselves and man. We fail. People fail. We are not perfect. People are not perfect. However, God never fails. God is perfect in all of His ways.

When we look to Him first and foremost, His will can be accomplished through His beloved church. God will not share His manifest power and glory through people who do not place Him as their one and only source of hope and light. He is imploring the church to turn to Him in this critical hour so we can be ready and stay ready.

In this season, God is separating the true and faithful believers, pastors, leaders and ministries from the carnal, self-centered and prideful. The time is now to be ready and stay ready. Here are 12 scriptural ways to prepare:

1. Stay in the Word. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).
2. Stay in prayer. “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you“ (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
3. Stay still in the Lord’s presence. “Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in Me” (John 15:4). “The Lord shall fight for you, while you hold your peace“ (Ex. 14:14).
4. Stay repentant. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Prov. 28:13).
5. Stay humble. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
6. Stay teachable. “Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget it, nor turn away from the words of my mouth” (Prov. 4:5).
7. Stay obedient. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
8. Stay alert. “But concerning that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:32-33).
9. Stay committed. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).
10. Stay rooted. “[Be] rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, and abounding with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:7).
11. Stay unshakeable. “My soul waits in silence on God alone; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my refuge; I will not be greatly shaken” (Ps. 62:1-2).
12. Stay faithful. “Let that which you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If that which you have heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:24-25).

Satan does not play fair. He knows he is defeated, but He will do all he can to make us, the children of God, reflect defeated Christian lives by making us fearful, causing us to doubt God’s promises and detach from God and into the circumstances around us.

This will cause the lukewarm and carnal believer to fall into darkness and for lost to remain there because they cannot tell one from the other. In this critical hour of judgment, purification, revival and awakening, we need to get and stay plugged in and ready for whatever God has called us to do. {eoa}

Dr. Meg Hart founded Restored Women in 2015 and Restored Global in 2018, both ministries birthed into her heart from God because of the great revelation, redirection and restoration she experienced through Jesus. She is an ordained pastor through Global Ministries and Relief Inc. She recently published her first book, Falling in Love Again: Redirecting Your Earthly Rejection to Eternal Restoration.