Matthew 24:42 KJV – Watch, therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
The wording translated “keep watch” is from the Greek word “Gregoreuo” meaning “a mindfulness of threatening dangers which, with conscious earnestness and an alert mind, keeps one from all drowsiness and all slackening in the energy of faith and conduct.”
Matthew 26:40 KJV – And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
The Greek word that Jesus used in this command is Gregoreuo. It means ‘to keep awake.’ It can be used in a physical, moral, or spiritual sense. It denotes giving careful attention and mindfulness in the face of danger; keeping from drowsiness, with conscious earnestness and alertness; denouncing all slackening in the energy of faith and conduct.
The Hebrew word adds to the richness of this spiritual exercise. It is shamar and means ‘to hedge about as with thorns, to protect, to attend to.’
Recently I have been hearing explanations of the word ‘WATCH’ from the above second scripture but by digging a little further I found that the same meaning is also in the first scripture as well!
The importance of us needing to ‘watch’ and be vigilant in this season is paramount for our Christian walk. There is so much that can be concealed and or manipulated, which then leads to deceptiveness.
A bit like children concealing something that they ‘think’ is hidden…
Story: when my husband was growing up, his mum was a Home Economics Teacher (taught cooking and sewing in high school) so my husband was always given evening meals that were of a ‘culinary questionable delight’ shall we say… (in his opinion) so him and his siblings were banned from ever saying ‘what’s this stuff?’. My husband tried hiding a portion of his dinner in his glass of milk…. Which of course did not work!!
Story: I have also discovered along the way that my own dear children did the concealment endeavor with their food too when my back was turned – one liked meat, the other liked vegetables so they would swap what was on their plates so they could present an empty plate to the leave the table!
I am sure that in our growing up we have all done the same in different imaginative ways. But our Heavenly Father sees us in all we do and is aware of what is going on around us so by him encouraging us to be vigilant and keep watch in this season – How do we?
When we pursue more – researching, reading, etc. to gain a greater understanding of what Jesus is saying to us through His Word (the Bible) then he will have the Holy Spirit aid us in ‘seeing clearly’ for His truth to be revealed to us. The amount of ‘oh’ and ‘ah-ha’ moments I have had over the years has been amazing. God truly wants to speak to me and get my attention!
HIDDEN!
Have you ever experienced the sensation of being watched? You are out and about, doing your normal routine, and then you get that ‘knowing’ that there is something or someone checking you out and watching you? Depending on what it is you are doing, I guess will then depend on whether you feel good about being watched or not.
We all have a little feeling of guilt I guess, especially when we have just passed a speed camera on the road, and we quickly check out our speedo! Yep! Are we over or under?
In the word it says….
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” 1 Peter 5:8 MSG
I have on many occasions sensed that I am being watched and, in those moments, I need to be vigilant enough to assess, ‘Who’ it is that is watching me!
There have been many movies where they show a representation between GOOD and EVIL battling it out but one particular depiction in the cartoon version of ‘EPIC’ does give a very good visual of this when the warriors are all surrounding the queen just watching, being protective and instinctively the head warrior – turns, shoots his arrow and although we might think he has struck nothing but tree bark – it’s a second later when we then realise he actually stuck the ‘jugular vein’ of what then becomes a nightmare! (Check out the trailer here )
There are also two other comments that get made in this movie trailer…
‘Brave warriors watch over and protect us’ – in the word it says…
I. "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you
back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised
you." - Genesis 28:15 NIV
II. “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”
- Psalm 121:8 NIV
We should be confident (Rom 8:28) in all we do, knowing that our Heavenly Father is watching us and if we have any uneasy feelings of being watched by something/someone else then we can give over our concerns and worries to Him in prayer (1 Peter 5:7 NLT)
‘Just because you haven’t seen something – doesn’t mean it’s not there’ – in the word it says…
I. “So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are
unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but
the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.” - 2 Corinthians
4:18 AMP
I love knowing I have a Heavenly Father who is interested in my every day and wants the best for me – I could not do this life in the 21st century without that assurance!
Even as I am writing this, my ‘daily devotion’ (daily bible reading passage from BIOY) today is all about ‘Facing the Storms of Life’ – Matthew 8:26
‘The natural response to the storms is doubt and fear. Jesus tells them that the response to storms should be trust (‘You of little faith’ v26a) and that you should not be afraid (‘Why are you so afraid?’ v 26a) Jesus is quite capable of calming the storm and that is exactly what he did. Even in the midst of a storm such as a global pandemic Choose Faith over Fear ‘ (by Nicky Gumbel – Rev @ HTB Church, London)
So, if you weren’t totally aware yet, we have an enemy out to destroy our personal patch of ‘Forest’ (world) and we are here for a plan, orchestrated by our Heavenly Father.
‘For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,‘ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’ - Jeremiah 29:11 AMP
*****
I wrote the above as a blog on my website on 10th January 2021, three days later my father’s bank accounts were compromised, and it continued for 19 more days until they were all emptied. I am blown away by how perceptive the Holy Spirit was to me back then to whisper ‘the urgent’ to me, but my natural eye (and trust in a bank) was not able to see what the enemy was actually doing behind the scenes at the time.
Extract from Book ‘Fragrance’ by Kim Stanfield
Be encouraged that if we take the time to continue looking from left to right at all times, our Heavenly Father, with the Holy Spirit will be right there with us - making all things known to us for His plans and purpose to be revealed.
11-14 But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about! – Romans 13:11-14 MSG
‘Having done all…Stand!’ – Ephesians 6:13 KJV
Amen!