Don't Ignore God's Warning

[Darris McNeely] Have you ever heard an emergency alarm and ignored it? I have.

As a child, when a weather alert came over the TV or radio, we took it seriously. My mother had experienced a tornado, and our neighbor would come knocking to make sure we sought shelter. We always went to the basement.

Recently, I was back in my hometown when a tornado warning went off in the middle of the night. The alarms were loud, but my wife and I rolled over and went back to sleep. Thankfully, nothing happened.

I still think about the tragic floods that struck South Texas along the Guadalupe River. Several young girls were swept away at night. The loss haunts me. Had it occurred during daylight, perhaps lives could have been saved. But it came while people slept, and the only alerts were on cell phones—easy to miss in deep sleep.

I learned that Kerr County, Texas, where this happened, is about the size of Rhode Island but has just 54,000 people—compared to over a million in Rhode Island. Emergency systems likely reflect the county's limited resources. This time, it wasn’t enough.

What have I learned? I need to take alarms seriously. Being alert could save a life.

This tragedy made me reflect on the biblical phrase “a thief in the night”—used in Revelation 16:15 and other passages (Luke 21:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:4; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3). Christ’s return will come suddenly. Spiritual deception is high. These scriptures urge watchfulness, righteousness and readiness.

Ignoring an alarm recently made me realize I need to revisit these scriptures. There’s wisdom and warning in them.

Alarms are meant to awaken. Spiritually, we must not sleep through the warnings.