John Paul Jackson

Over time, I have discovered that God takes our fears very seriously. We often do not. Most of us have been afraid of the same things for so many years that we almost don't notice how they're affecting us anymore—or worse, we choose to ignore them.

This isn't fear, we may think. I just don't do that sort of thing. I'm not outgoing enough.

It's not because I'm afraid of failing. I've just decided not to see this through.

I know God doesn't want me to be afraid of this (person, event, situation), but I am.

Our fears may seem small and insignificant to us, but they aren't to God. He will often go to great lengths to see that we are delivered from them.

We are being prepared for some very difficult times. Times of shaking, such as those we're experiencing now, show us just how much we are in God's hands and not the other way around.

Editor’s Note: The following prophetic bulletin was originally written by John Paul Jackson, founder of Streams Ministries International (streamsministries.com), in August 2008. He later released it publicly at the prompting of his board—not knowing how relevant it would be at that time. Jackson says of the bulletin: “When I first wrote it, little did I know the events that were soon to happen concerning Todd Bentley, the Gulf hurricanes, Russia’s invasion of Georgia, the trains that would collide near Los Angeles, Sarah Palin’s nomination and the stir that would cause, or September 15th’s stock market plunge. All of these are early elements of what the Lord called ‘The Coming Perfect Storm.’” We reprint the bulletin here in order to give it as wide a circulation as possible. At the end you can click to read Jackson’s comments about dealing with tough times and his list of six things you should keep in mind as you weather the storm.