Synchronize Watches

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36 (NKJV)

 

I kinda feel lost without a wristwatch. Now, this might be a nutty thing to say but I always feel like I’ve got the time ticking in my head. While I was in the Army, I guess I developed an “internal clock” that I attribute to the “hurry up and wait” mentality that was part of my time served. I always needed to be somewhere at something hundred hours and I needed a wrist watch to translate what that looked like. To this day, I have gotten into the habit of constantly looking at my watch to see how much time has gone by. To those who converse with me, you know I do this while you’re talking with me and as far as the internal clock goes, it goes off at 4:30 a.m. because I need to hit the head. Anyway…

There was something that I’ve read recently about watching things and it was convicting in its way. Not only am I one who watches his watch, I’ve also taken on the role of someone who has become a spectator of sports. It’s well known that I love to watch football, particularly the Philadelphia Eagles, and over the many years I developed an understanding of the game. However, it is very different when I’ve actually gone out and played the game. I ended up needing a lot of Tylenol and ice after I played and now it’s just not possible. I was forced into retirement by the younger crowd (they made their point, I agreed).

The thing that I read came from a devotional I get from “The Berean” and on this particular morning their opening went like this, we live in a spectator nation because we watch various things, sports, the stock market, movies and that watching has become an activity that has put us on the sidelines and not in the field of battle. They said that this is a foreign idea to the original meaning of the word “watch” and that in its proper translation it emphasizes the carefulness, attention, and vigilance that a solider keeps alert for any sign of enemy movement. Guess it’s time to put the wristwatch down and see where this goes.

In Luke 21:29-36, Jesus will tell a parable about a fig tree and how that by its budding you’ll see that summer is near. He’ll say, “So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:31) If you backtrack into the verses before this one, you’ll read how Jesus gives, what many call, His “Olivet Discourse” about the end times. Not being One to waste words, Jesus will go on to say, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.” (Luke 21:34) Alrighty, we’ve been warned but what are to do about it? The first word used in the spiritual instruction of verse 36 is WATCH!!

This isn’t meant to be passive like just sitting there, watching T.V., on the contrary, we need to be watching ourselves spiritually. We can’t stand by and just allow this world to bombard us with its influence, once again, on the contrary, we ‘re called to stand against and do battle with it. For us to watch, in this way, is to join the process of overcoming and when we’ve done that Jesus wants us to “Pray Always” so that when these two things are part of our everyday living, we will be counted worthy to escape, as The Berean put it, “the final effects of the turmoil that is ahead and to enter God’s Kingdom.” Who doesn’t want that?

Whether we wanna know it or not, we all have some kind of ticking going on inside ourselves. I’ve joked that because of my ticking, I feel the need for a wrist watch but what if I treat this the way it should be treated and say that this “ticking” is the prompting of the Holy Spirit letting me know what time it really is? Hmm…flips the script doesn’t it?

Now don’t get me wrong, we need to take a step back and just kinda watch stuff. A discerning mind will know, one way or another, when to look up but we are also called to look into ourselves and make sure we’re ready while it’s still called today. When it’s my time to stand before the Son of Man, He certainly will not comment on my wrist watch and say, “Nice watch. Where did you get that?” For my final, on the contrary, my fear is its gonna be “Depart from Me I never knew you” BUT my hope is truly, Well Done. Enter In.” Amen?

 

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a husband, a father, has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

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Think About This: “There is no neutral ground in the universe; every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.” — C.S. Lewis

The Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 27-31 | You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I, therefore, the prisoner ^[a]of the Lord, ^[b]beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. – Ephesians 4:1-3

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.