"Caught Unaware"

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:34-36) Pre; Mid; or Post; what is your flavor? For me, it's to be taken before that great tribulation; however, I do believe that there will be some us here that will go through that terrible ordeal; not willingly, but because that they were caught unaware. We really do not have an excuse to not be ready, except to just not be caring at the time of His coming. That is pretty much what it comes down to: not caring because you are so distracted by the things of this life here on earth. I know this to be so, so you must believe me when I say that this life is a snare to grip your very soul, and we must gather our senses, get on our knees, and pray that we are not distracted; because any one of us, no matter how strong you might think that you are, can become distracted by the things of this world. I know, you are thinking, Not me, I am totally prepared and will not be moved! Well, good for you! Maybe you should be named Peter, if that is already not your name; we can all call you Peter, because you are a rock of a Christian; after all, he was such a great example of saying what he meant and doing what he said; right? I would caution anyone who might think that they are bulletproof, and that they are beyond the point of being caught off guard: do not think that way, because that is right where the enemy wants you to be: self-reliant; not needing God's help to withstand the grip of the enemy. Do you know how a slip-knot works? much the same as a noose. My mom would always say, If you give someone enough rope, they will hang them self. That is pretty much the meaning of the word 'snare' that Jesus uses in the passage above; we can find ourselves being strung along by the cares of this world, not really knowing just how far we have drifted away from being fully reliant upon God for His protection. All the while, we have thought that we are still attached to Him by this rope we have fastened between us and Him; until, all of the sudden, snap! That rope which we have fastened has become a noose around our necks; working like a slip-knot that uses the force of our own weight to tighten more around our neck. And there is only one way to escape that kind of entanglement; which is to cry out for God to lift you up and to remove the rope. However; that will not be the case at the time of His coming; there will be no time for asking God to intervene in the removal of your snare that you have gotten yourself into. Only a stool shall be placed below your feet, that another may kick it out during the tribulation...