The pandemic showed us that if we continue depending on the food industry and big box stores, we might starve. We saw the empty shelves, the high prices, and the vaccine requirements for restaurants.
Part of being a follower of Christ is being set apart from the systems of this world (Ephesians 6). That means we should be positioning ourselves to be reliant on God, ourselves, and our village of fellow believers.
There will come a day when Christians will not be able to buy or sell
So if you want to live, you’ll need to produce your own food. Period’t. That means gardening is not just a cute hobby. It’s a survival plan.
Scriptures about preparing for the future by being self-sufficient
Revelation 13
13 Then [a]I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having [b]seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to [c]continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every [d]tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the [e]patience and the faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives [f]those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has [g]the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Proverbs 31
31 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
2 What, my son?
And what, son of my womb?
And what, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
5 Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all [a]the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are [b]appointed to die.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
10 Who[c] can find a [d]virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From [e]her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
The woman in Proverbs 31 knew this. She wasn’t worried about the future because she had a plan. This lady had so much food that her whole household was taken care of, and she used her earnings to invest in more land to grow so much food she can give it away to the poor.
This earth was created to sustain us. We’re the ones who screwed it up
Testimony: My son was diagnosed with autism at age 3. My husband researched a diet that claimed to help with some of his signs of autism and with his horrible food allergies. I was taking a prayer walk and whining to God about how much effort this diet would take, since I’m the one who cooks.
This would mean scratch cooking everything. Nothing processed. No sweeteners except raw honey. Tracking down organic probiotic foods. As a working mom, this was about to be another job. But the Holy Spirit checked me and said something like, “Who told you to get your food from factories and boxes? This is how you should be eating anyway.”
Think about this: How in the heck can there be high obesity rates and food deserts in the same zip codes?
Yet, this is normal for many Black communities. Ironically, many of us are descendants of the people who grew enough food to feed a nation during slavery.
John Berry Meachum warned us about this in his letter. He warned us about moving into the cities where we wouldn’t have land to grow our food. He urged all Blacks coming out of slavery to fiercely protect our ability to farm.
Read John Berry Meachum’s Advice for Blacks Coming Out Of Slavery
John Berry Meachum and his wife Mary were devout Christians and abolitionists. They were born into slavery, but John purchased his family’s freedom at 21 years old. John and Mary started a school for Blacks in their church. When Missouri outlawed education for Blacks, they moved their school to a boat outside of state lines. As an entrepreneur and pastor, John Meachum purchased and freed other enslaved people. Before he died in 1854, Meachum wrote a pamphlet with clear instructions for Blacks coming out of slavery. Maybe now we’ll listen…
So now, it’s time to go back. My husband and I have a small garden to get started with growing our food. Last year, we successfully planted tomatoes, basil, and radishes. This year we added potatoes, which I consider a survival crop. We are far from being self-sufficient, but this is a start.
Here are 3 food growers who have set themselves apart from the food industry
The Homestead heart has 20 acres of land in Georgia. Her motto is, “Grow your groceries.” For her this is not just a business, this is a movement.
The other is a mom in Maryland who has a small space, but still skips the grocery store and goes right to the vertical garden on her small balcony.
The last one is a family in Ohio who grows enough food to last a year, even though they live in a cold climate and use one-eighth of an acre of land.
I hope they encourage you to grow something, and teach your kids to do the same.
Homestead Heart: SOON WE WON’T NEED THEM ANYMORE! (Watch the first 20 min)
Becoming A Farm Girl: FAST FOOD From A Small Garden
More Than Farmers
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