I was wondering if anyone else finds themselves fighting what I would refer to as “normalcy bias” as May 14th approaches? My use of that term needs to be clarified, as the common definition of the term does not really apply to true believers. Here is a definition taken from the online “Wiktionary” site: “The phenomenon of not believing in the reality of one's situation when faced with grave and imminent danger and/or catastrophe, because these circumstances are not typical.” That definition seems appropriate for those who have rejected Christ, mock the promise of the Harpazo, and continue to live as if everything is just fine. However, for true blood-bought, Spirit-regenerated believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the definition, at least in terms of how I want to use it for the purpose of this post, needs to be modified to the following: “The phenomenon of questioning the timing in the fully anticipated reality of one's situation when faced with wonderful and imminent benefits of a promised event from the Word of God, because these circumstances are not typical.” With that definition, that’s the normalcy bias I am struggling with. Are we truly going to be gone at some point between now and May 14? I know God’s Word. I am fully convinced and believe that Lord will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, while we who are alive and remain will be harpazoed into the clouds to meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. I know that is going to happen. I just don’t know, with 100% certainty, that it is going to happen at some point in the next 13 days. In my finite understanding, there seems to be a really good possibility that it will. A really, really good possibility. But I was convinced He was coming back in 2015 and I was REALLY convinced He was coming in 2017. Now I battle the increasing demands of my job pulling me back into earthly concerns. Not that I completely lose perspective, but it is hard not to be earthly focused when your job demands you to focus, expend creative energy, and fully engage to honorably fulfill your job duties. There are moments at work when I am walking down the hallway and the thought runs through my mind, something to the effect: “You will not be walking these hallways very many more times. You are going home.” At that point, part of me wants to stand on my desk and shout a warning to my co-workers at the top of my lungs, while another part envisions men then showing up to take me away in a white straightjacket. He is coming. I know He is. The signs are everywhere and the convergence seems more than rationally characterized as unprecedented. I think I’m hesitant to let myself go 100% all-in because I will have to deal with the me that remains should we all still be here come May 14th. Sometimes I wonder if normalcy bias is just a fancy euphemism for my unbelief. Lord, I hope that is not the case, but if it is, then like the dad with the sick child, I cry out, “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.” And then I would immediately add, Maranatha!!! Thoughts? Complacency abounds, for sure. Sad that it seems so rampant within the hearts of "believers"! That's the saddest part of it all. For sure we must all strike a workable balance. I'm not ready to run up my credit cards, ....! But am mindful that it is referred to as the "blessed hope". Truly watchers I believe will receive their own rewards for their efforts. But participation to that extent isn't necessary to be included. TR Been there, done that, Watchman35. My thoughts: the expectation that Jesus will come by [some date] has been a mistake that many have warned me about. But I always refuse to avoid setting dates. I need them! And as you know, Watchman, we pay dearly after our broken expectations. Yup! "Hello tower. This is flight MWS217 intending to land on 5-5-19 on runway 9 R. Please have fire extinguishers and medics on hand in any case because I'm "all-in" again. My landing gear might not actually be locked down, and I also think I have enough fuel to make it to an alternate landing field, but I would rather hope for some serious foam here since I have been circling for years already, and been vectored off to other destinations time and again. I'm also weary of in-air refueling. Besides, the hours logged on critical systems are getting excessive. So I'm coming in! I have experience in crashes, and I don't care! Okay? Over." :mdrmdr: :rose: :prayer-hands: :heart: :flyup: After so many years of watching and thinking it would happen by such and such date and with all the belly flops that followed I’ve come to a place and age where I live out each day and plan for the future but also expect that at any moment He will be coming for me either by Rapture or death and either one works for me. I value this life He has given me and I try to live each day with no regrets but I have stopped looking at particular “high watch” dates and just always expect it to happen all of a sudden. At an hour no man thinketh is more likely, to me, to be today or tomorrow verses Pentecost or Feast of Trumpets even though it is much more interesting to try to figure it all out. We are hard-wired to figure things out and so it is with the Rapture. But going about it the way I do now keeps me from belly flopping and that awful low place that takes days or weeks to get out of. I do not live for the things in this world and nothing here holds sway over me but at the same time the emotional let downs are too much to deal with and so, like you mentioned about walking the halls at work not too many more times, I look at all I do in that same light. For the past several years when the Morel mushrooms pop up in the forests in early Spring and I go hunt them I always say the same thing to myself; “this may be my last hunt”. I don’t know if we have 13 more days or 13 more hours but I do feel absolutely certain that we are in the final hours of the Age of Grace and we will see His coming in the clouds soon. I’m wired the same way ... I need high watch dates to get me through the year. Even though the dates have come and gone and can lead to disappointment ... I quickly perk up when I see another batch ... :mail: this is what keeps me going as a watcher. :yes: Excellent way of describing it, Watchman. What is considered "normal" is constantly shifting, isn't it? The life we view as "normal" can suddenly be swept away in a moment, though. As like Johanan I too am filled with the idea of "lasts". For quite some time, whenever I would gaze upon the loveliness of the Earth, or the many accomplishments of man, or works of art, my prevailing thought is that this is all gonna burn! To ad to this feeling of complacency and lasts, there seems little here that satisfies as it once did. Given that we are all broken vessels, I am finding people a burden and a chore. Family, friends, loved one's and even Christians are getting on my last nerve. I wonder why? Perhaps this detachment is something normal just prior to a Rapture?! Yes I often feel quite detached at times from the things of this life. TR What has me wondering is Yohanan’s spring hobby of finding Morel mushrooms in the forest. 🙁 No worries ... if he going to apply that fungus on slimy sushi fish ... but if its meant to ruin a lovely filet mignon ... oy vey ... what a sinful tragedy! 😉 They are absolutely splendid on a filet mignon! Mmmmmmm
