The final critical element in standing alone in faith is to quite consciously stand alone.
When you walk by conviction, one of the things you keep in mind always is the balance between DIY and divine provision. On the one hand, you will certainly need to stay in touch with the Father about His provision. Sometimes you can’t even cross the street without His divine intervention.
At the same time, you cannot trust human fallen nature. If you can’t really trust the fleshly creature you see in the mirror, how can you trust other people? You don’t. You trust God to work in their lives the same as in your own. You realize that there are some things you’ll simply turn over to others because it’s not yours. What God doesn’t put in your hands is His to worry about. But don’t be surprised when they fail you. God works through your failures, and He’ll shine His glory in theirs, too.
But broadly speaking, we should cultivate a strong sense of self-reliance in this world. If there is any way possible to do something for yourself, go that route. In particular, when it comes to the kind of information warfare and online persecution, it’s critical that you either learn to handle the nitty-gritty details of your own technology needs, or pray God show you someone who can give you a clue, preferably a covenant brother or sister.
Reduce your virtual dependencies. Almost any service you use for free can be taken from you. Even the ones you pay for can decide to cut you off at the worst possible moment. We are seeing this happen a great deal as I write this. It’s more than just politics. Following Jesus marks you as the enemy of something like three-quarters of all service providers on the Net, and nearly all of the bigger ones. Quoting certain passages of Scripture in public is already illegal in some Western countries, and it is likely to be so in the USA soon.
Discern your mission calling. What are the things you truly must have to obey the Lord? Trust Him for those things you cannot do yourself. But always have your own data back-up on physical media, and prepare duplicate services in case your account is clobbered somewhere. Be aware that, for every service provider you are forced to trust, it comes with built-in headaches and limitations on your choices.
It’s pretty much the same with all those things government demands we let them do for us, or that they regulate. The purpose behind those policies is seldom benign; it’s always going to protect someone who has paid for protection. That’s how it is with Big Tech and all the things they claim to give us for free. The entities that pay get to name the tune.
So be aware that it’s quite likely a lot of stuff you do online is probably not essential. Reassess your habits via your mission. The things you must do to obey are the things you are most careful about. The rest is always lightly held, ready to drop when it no longer serves any essential purpose.
This is a very good time to start reducing your exposure. Each non-essential service we use is a handle by which our Enemy (Satan) can grab us. This is the same in many things we do in the real world, as well.
Also, please be aware that as tribulation rises, everything you do will take more time and resources. Pretty soon you won’t have any room in your life for that frivolous stuff. Keep in the forefront of your awareness what is truly essential and be ready to ditch anything that could hold you back.
Try to retain as much control as possible over whatever is essential to your gospel mission.
