Fear can cause us to experience cold hands, deeper and more rapid breathing, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, sweating, dry mouth, trembling or tightening of the muscles. When I was a girl in school, standing up and speaking to a room full of peers was the most frightening and painful thing in my mind, as I experienced all these symptoms and struggled to keep my mind from going blank. 

Jesus told us: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Matthew 10:16-20).

We have records of things like this that have happened to some of those who came before us. What went through their minds as they realized they were not going to get out of it alive? How do we train ourselves to keep our wits during the times prophesied to be ahead?

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).

Many have faced death nobly knowing that their reward was sure. Some we probably don’t even know about, their stories lost over time, but many are recorded.

Darris McNeely presented a Beyond Today program that spoke of one such man, Andreas Eossi—a wealthy nobleman—and the group he led in 1595. At first, they were small and unnoticed. As they gained in numbers they came to the attention of the magistrates and the church leaders. They were soon seen as a threat, and many were stripped of all that they owned. Some of those who came to understand the truth would not give it up and lost their lives.

The horses of Revelation grow impatient, pawing the ground, as Satan knows his time of restraint draws near.

Some of us are going through, or have gone through, severe trials, and it is my belief they help prepare us to keep our wits when the time comes that the pace of the horses is in full gallop. We have not yet faced fear for our lives, but Christians in some other countries already have.

“So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm, what’s going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood? Those closest to you, your own brothers and cousins are working against you. They’re out to get you. They’ll stop at nothing. Don’t trust them, especially when they’re smiling" (Jeremiah 12:5, The Message Translation).

So far we have just been running with the footmen.

Here is the first verse of a famous poem written by Rudyard Kipling of Jungle Book fame that touches on this thought of keeping our wits.

IF
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise […]"

The time is coming when we will need to keep our wits and remain calm when the world as we know it completely falls apart. Christ warned us that even family members may turn on us. Stay brave!

They will be and are being deceived, so we will need to make allowance for their doubt, while still trusting that our God is true.

Run the race without growing tired, no matter how long we must wait.

False accusers led to Christ being on trial for His life, and we may face the same.

Christ has warned that we will be hated by all men for His name’s sake, and yet He said to love our enemies.

Remain humble and know God has singled us out for His grace.

People will become offended who once walked with us side by side and will betray and hate one another. Lawlessness is already becoming the norm of the day and the love of many is growing cold.

As lawlessness abounds, could it enter the Church and cause our love to grow cold? One of the reasons we have a Council of Elders is to protect the doctrines already proved from rogue interpretations of the Bible. It requires two-thirds majority vote from the Council to change any of the fundamental beliefs.

The horses are coming. We can hear their hooves in the distance.

In my youth, I could not imagine a time when the average person in our country could deny the existence of God. People who didn’t believe were looked on as lacking something, and even pitied by those who knew you can’t have a creation without a Creator.

Today, those of us who believe and know God is real are the ones pitied as believing in a mythological god no different than the ones created in the minds of men. Some say in a voice of scorn that if we had been born in a Muslim country, we would practice Islam. That may be true—but we used to be thankful knowing we were born in a nation with God’s blessing and founded on His own Words for our guide.

Even when we practiced it imperfectly as a nation, we were blessed: divorce was scarce, sexual immorality made people an outcast, witchcraft and idolatry were forbidden, cursing and swearing were not used in polite society, women wanted and protected their children, the average family believed in God and attended church. All of this has changed in my lifetime!

The horses are picking up speed. We may soon enter a time like Eossi when we may no longer be ignored as a strange, small sect.

What will happen when we are held up for ridicule in front of the whole world? Most likely we will be abandoned by all who know us, family or not. We will need to keep our wits and not let it hinder our faith in God. Jesus lamented in the gospel of Luke: "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

Those of us in the faith must develop strength in the bonds we have been building with each other through the years, as well as strengthening our relationship with our God. This is why fellowship is so important.

"Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a three-fold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Speak things that build each other up, and do not say things that hurt and destroy.

When we see others as heirs together of the promise that should help us to see we are all in different stages of development and to not be critical. Some who appear more developed in some areas are most likely weak in others. Be patient and be kind. Don’t read things into comments, impugning motives that are not there, but we must also be careful with our comments because words do hurt.

In 1 Corinthians 13 we read that no matter what our gifts might be, if we do not love one another, it does not profit us at all.

And Jesus admonished: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

We do have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling—but a part of that is being there for one another.

There is no allowance for failure, and we are all in it together.

I remember as a young girl my friends and I would hold hands as we skipped together in play. We need to be holding hands in friendship and encouraging our brethren, not biting and devouring one another.

Cowards will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Cowardice is the first thing mentioned in Revelation 21:8 when listing the ones who lose their inheritance. Courage is easier when we are being courageous for others also.

The pace of the horses will eventually be in full gallop, their hooves pounding like thunder. Hang on and hang together! This will help us keep our wits as the world heats up around us. May we be found holding each other’s hands, as we wait for our Deliverer to come and set the world aright!