“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon your suddenly like a trap, For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth, but stay awake at all times praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:34-36 ESV
We have had several weeks of study to consider the “how to’s” necessary to endure the season we are now living in. We keep coming back to the reality of our “eyes on Jesus” being a must. While there will be unprecedented occurrences naturally, politically and socially, we as the body of Christ, are not to be caught unaware of times and seasons. The greater the pressure in life the greater our need for Gods presence. Pressure gives us opportunity to move deeper into God. It demands a greater separation from all things that dull our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Without this separation and seeking, bitterness can be the fruit borne of painful experiences.
Jesus give a the warning, watch yourself!. NASB says ‘Be on guard’. The book of Proverbs tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence for all the issues of life flow from them. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that the evil heart of unbelief removes us from God and anything that removes us from this vital union with the Father, His Word and the Holy Sprit must be pruned and purged.
TPT reads” be careful that you never allow your hearts to grow cold.” Take no thought, be careful for nothing, cast your cares over onto the Lord, do not be anxious for your life, we are told over and over, yet it is this very condition that causes mens hearts to faint, lawlessness to abound and the love of many to grow cold. The overwhelming pressure of cares causes hearts to be weighed down, ears to be dulled and appetites to be satisfied with the world. In the last days men’s hearts will fail them for fear, but by our endurance we will gain our lives.
The weights we carry are burdens we were never meant to bear. We turn to the worlds ways of coping ~ ‘dissipation and drunkenness’. These things are just doping mechanisms to escape our cares. Yet it is these very cares Jesus said will be our snare in the last days.
Endurance is hinged on our ability to stay alert, focused and connected. We can not escape the temptations that we are sure to find in the world, but, by staying connected to Jesus, we are assured to overcome, as He did. Jesus tells us how to avoid the trap. Stay awake, stay alert and pray. Pray that we may have strength. Does this mean without prayer we have no strength or does it mean ask for strength to escape the temptations? Jesus disciples, sleeping for sorrow, failed in the hour of trial. I think we can safely say it includes both.
We are to be a people who have eyes set upon heavenly things, ears that hear what the spirit is saying so we will find ourselves, with lamps, full of oil, burning brightly, watching and waiting for our Lord’s return.
The enduring are found in Luke twelve, dressed for action with lamps burning, waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.
Blessed because we are not left behind!