"Watching"

"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is." Mark 13:33

Sometimes we aren't watching where we should be because we are preoccupied watching other things. I remember watching some of the western movies on television when the enemy would surround the house and shoot at the ones inside the house. Those in the house would be stationed at every window- not just the ones in the front. They kept a watch on the back and both sides of the house to make sure the enemy did not gain access any where. Each person was appointed their post to watch. Had they been preoccupied with something else besides guarding the window they were stationed at, the enemy would have slipped through an unguarded window opening.

I believe the Lord is saying to us this morning that we are too preoccupied looking in the wrong directions and not focusing on the one that is really important. We have become busy watching so much that is unimportant that we are not watching for the things that are most important. The shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night when they received word from the angels of the Messiah's birth. They were watching where they should have been watching and received the invitation. If the watchman on the wall is watching what he should be watching, the enemy will be spotted before he can make it into the city. If the owner of the house is watching out for the safety of his household and not preoccupied watching other things the thief cannot come in. If the five foolish virgins had been watching the oil in their lamps they would not have missed the wedding fest. If Peter had been watching in prayer instead of sleeping, he would not have fallen into the temptation to deny Christ.

Are you watching in the right direction this morning? Are you watching the important things- eternal things? Are you preoccupied watching those things that only pull you further away from Christ? Are you watching for the enemy? Are you watching for the Lord's return? Are you watching your life to make sure it is pleasing to the Lord? Just where and what are you watching?

Have a great day. Are you watching for the things that are eternal, or preoccupied with watching the things that are only the cares of this life?

For further reading:
Ephesians 6:18
Luke 12:37; 2:8
Matthew 24:43; 25:1-3