There is much speculation within the prophetic Christian circles of a disaster that is coming to California in the months ahead of us, specifically the month of November. When these prophetic words are spoken the first thing I look at is who are the individuals speaking such prophecies? In this case, there are some very influential men of God that have a track record of being accurate that are speaking forth this warning of a large disaster that will affect the San Francisco Bay Area.
After being notified of these warnings, I went to prayer and felt led to write to you this month regarding how we as Christians should react to such a prophetic word. But to react to this word I feel led to teach you about what a true “Wake-Up Call” is all about, and why God allows tragedy and pain to occur in the lives of people.
Bad things happen to good people, and most of the time we can't figure out why! Once we understand that as believers, we have been saved from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ, we can rule out the possibility that God is punishing us. We are His redeemed children now and no longer subject to His punishment. However, there is another possibility we rarely consider. Maybe God is sending us a wake-up call.
"Why did God allow this?"
When personal, state-wide, or national tragedy hits, we can be sure a good God does not cause it, but he does allow it to happen. We can only wonder, "Why did God allow this?" That is exactly the question God wants us to ask. After our salvation, God's second goal for our life is to conform us to the character of His Son, Jesus Christ; and we all stray off that path from time to time. We can stray through complacency, through busyness, or simply because we believe we are already "good enough." After all, we are saved. We know we cannot get to Heaven by doing good works, so nothing more is required of us, we reason. As human rationalization, that seems to make sense, but it does not satisfy God. God has higher standards for us as Christians. He wants us to be like Jesus.
"But I was not sinning!"
When something bad happens, our gut reaction is to protest the unfairness of it. We cannot think of anything we did to deserve it, and doesn't the Bible say God protects believers? Certainly our salvation is secure, but we see from Bible figures like Job and Paul that our health or finances may not be, and we learn from Stephen and the other martyrs that our life may not be safe either. We need to dig deeper. Were we engaging in a reckless, unhealthy lifestyle, even if what we were doing wasn't technically sinful? Were we being unwise stewards with our money or talents? Have we been excusing wrong behavior because everybody else is doing it? Have we let Jesus become an afterthought, something we attended to on Sunday morning but pushed down on our priority list the rest of the week, behind our job, our recreation or even our family? These are hard questions to ask because we thought we were doing fine. We thought we were obeying God to the best of our ability. Would not a simple tap on the shoulder have been sufficient, instead of the pain we are now going through? Except we tend to shrug off taps on the shoulder. It is likely we received several and ignored them. We must admit, most of the time it takes something truly miserable to get our attention which in turn wakes us up.
"I am awake! I am awake!"
Nothing makes us ask questions like suffering. When we are finally humble enough for honest introspection, the answers come. To get those answers, we pray. We read the Bible. We meditate on our wake-up call. We have long, thoughtful conversations with brothers and sisters in Christ. God rewards our sincerity by giving us wisdom and understanding. Gradually we discover how we need to clean up our act. We realize where we were deficient or even dangerous and are shocked we did not see it before. As bad as our wake-up call was, it still rescued us in time. With relief and thanksgiving, we sense that things could have turned out much worse if God had not allowed this event to bring us to a complete halt. Then we ask God to help us put our life back together and learn the lesson He intended from the experience. Confessing our anger and hurt, we resolve to be more vigilant from now on so that no more wake-up calls are needed.
Seeing Your Wake-Up Call Accurately
The Christian life is not always pleasant, and anyone who has been at it for several decades can tell you that we learn the most about God and ourselves during our valley experiences, not on the mountain tops. That is why it is important to recognize your wake-up call as a learning experience and not as punishment. That becomes clear when you remember that God is motivated by love and has tremendous concern for you. Correction is needed when you get off course. A wake-up call forces you to rethink your priorities. It reminds you what really matters in life. God loves you so much He takes a constant, personal interest in your life. He wants to keep you close to Him, so close that you talk with Him and depend on Him all through your day, every day. And isn't that the kind of heavenly father you long for? I sure do!
The Wake-Up Call for California
California is the epicenter for the perversion that transmits throughout the United States (and the world for that matter) by way of television, major motion pictures, radio and pornography. It is beginning to set the bar in regards to marriage being redefined. Does California need a Wake-Up Call? YES! Will this Wake-Up Call from God come before the end of this year? Well some within prophetic circles say yes. For me, all I can do is pray to God for continued mercy on the people of California, and for the safety and protection of those living and serving Him to the best of their abilities faithfully.
To all of you reading this that live in California, I hope you will hear the pre-Wake-Up Call, and humble yourself in the presence of Jesus Christ. Repent and turn from your wickedness and lean on Him completely. Pray daily for His mercy and protection over your life and the lives of your family members. Live everyday prepared for a Wake-Up Call that will shake rattle and roll you, and if you live near a large body of water, prepare for flooding. If you live near trees and forests, prepare for fire. Trust your heavenly Father that He will protect you and bring you through the dark days that may lie ahead. Remember, if you are living to the best of your ability for Jesus Christ, and you are being faithful to Him in the way in which you live out your life, you have nothing to fear. Prepare yourself to be one that can help in the time of a major disaster, and be a true witness for your Savior Jesus Christ. Many affected will be looking to Jesus for help, and you will be able to lead them to the truth that will eternally set them free.
