I love my eyes; they’re one of the best senses. They let me see a kaleidoscope of colors and the beauty of nature, sunrises and sunsets, just the beautiful creation God made. There are times when I see things I would rather not see, but that comes with life…things like poverty, sickness, disease, and death. They are something that I would never like to take for granted, my eyes, which behold the face of my loved ones and all with which God has blessed me. The Bible tells us that Jesus left us with the commission to “Watch” for His return, and this is part of the Christian life.

We are all watching. People go to public places and watch the people come and go, don’t they? We turn on the T.V. and we watch what’s happening in the world. We watch the traffic as we head to work.  We watch our children play. What does the Bible say about our watches?

The Bible teaches us the watches of the night: Psalm 63:6 states, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” (NIV) This is a dividing of the night to keep guard, a military term for a city or citadel under guard by a soldier. This Psalm is talking about seeking God earnestly, our souls thirsting for Him, our bodies longing for Him.

God also says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”. When we are in the midst of despair or under threat is the time when many of us seek God! It is when there is peace and prosperity that we should be praising God and seeking Him, as well, but too many times I have been so contented that God was all but forgotten, I’m afraid. Is it the same for you? He is the reason I am content; His Power has delivered and redeemed me from the pit! Let us never forget from where God has brought us. Each time He has given me a lift for my faith--I reflect upon such things in those night watches.

My dear BFF was talking just today about the opportunity those unexpected waking hours in the night watches presents to pray, worship, and to read God’s Word. There were many nights when God would wake us up, to pray for someone who was in need, someone about whom only the Holy Spirit knew. In such cases, it is truly an honor to serve the Living, Loving God! Anything else on this earth cannot compare to fellowship with Him.  

It is so very important that we seek God; our spiritual well-being depends upon it.  Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” We can do nothing in our own strength. This was one of the hardest statements for me to understand as a new Christian; too often I had believed, and had been taught to believe, in “mind over matter”. “You can stop doing that anytime you feel like it; you just don’t want to”, was the charge. But the more I read the Bible, the more I realized that God is the One who deals with my character defects and my weaknesses, not me. All I can do is to pray about them and seek God’s Power to overcome them. The hardest part for the person locked into that bad behavior is the knowing that people have washed their hands of them and they can’t seem to break free from those addictions, nonetheless!

Some have given up their flawed character defects out of fear; it takes that for some. But the question is, will it last? The Bible says that mercy and grace are what lead sinners to repentance…this is the Way of God and the way Christ portrayed His Deity, in love. Our founder in Houston said once, in jest, “They’re that way ‘cause you can’t whip '‘em.”, and he smiled. God has ways of empowering us to get past the sin and live a life worthy of Him. Not by might, nor by power, but by His spirit!

We have had some men come in the Home who tried in their own strength to do what they could not do, and that was to overcome their addictions. But the façade and the masks that we will sometimes don for a time will eventually fall off and peel away, leaving us vulnerable and shining forth, in all our human weakness. Unless the Lord builds that house, our efforts to build it are futile. 

I do admit, however that it takes a willing heart to do what it is that God has planned for your life. Even the man with the withered hand had to stretch it forth in order for Jesus to heal it. It took some effort on his part.

Time and again in the Word of God something had to take place before the miracle could happen: that was surrender, complete and total. Paul, for instance, was stricken blind before he was able to recognize the Lord for Who He was! Even Stephen’s stoning and his martyrdom did not break his heart; His calling demanded drastic measures. God knows what He’s doing, in every case, praise God! Each and every thing that happened in Paul’s life was a seed sown in his heart that God harvested, finally, on the Damascus road.

When years pass and that person in your life does not get better, remember that a thousand years is like a day that has just gone by to God. He is not limited by time. Slow growth is good growth. Never lose faith in God, even if that loved one or that person in your life has disappointed and hurt you.

We here at VFO have had many shares in heartaches and our disappointments.  Even now I am guarding my heart’s door. In Psalms 141:3, the Word of God recounts David’s request: “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” On average, a person opens his mouth to speak 700 times a day! Pray that God will give you wisdom in your heart from the reading of His Word so that you may glorify Him and avoid dishonoring His Name.

The Word of God says that people should obey their leaders and submit to their authority. “…They watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”—Hebrews 13:17 –Does your conduct give your leaders reason to report joyfully about you? Leaders of the Church, Mentors, Parents, Older siblings, even Firemen and Police Officers are the people of whence this passage speaks.  Pastor Tom and I take the responsibility seriously, as do all the Pastors we know and love who support this Ministry. The person whose life lies in your hands is a precious life, no matter how rough around the edges or fallen they may appear to you at first glance. That’s why we love the men at VFO. They have so much potential and for us, the good times outweigh the bad, as the old song goes.

“Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing but the body is weak.” I have had recurring bad dreams and God has led me to this in order to let me know that He heard my petition today when I sought Him about it. Just as the defenses go down when we sleep, the devil comes to sow his weeds while we slumber. But God! God does not hold against us our temptations; we need to know that! Temptations are not sins, they are only opportunities planted in our minds by the power of darkness, and it’s up to us to entertain or to discard them. Wounds, or scars? I can go back to the past and too often this dream will surface. And this spirit that accuses me totally ignores the Salvation of my soul and Christ’s forgiveness of my sins!

This is my blog, not my confession. I am not the same person I was, Praise the Lord! The way to overcome temptation is to keep watch and pray. Watching means to be aware of temptation’s subtleties and possibilities, and to be spiritually equipped to resist and to fight.  Prayer is essential in shoring up God’s defenses and defeating Satan’s power.

I don’t think of the dreams as temptations; I think of them as accusations! This is a tool for the walk I now have with Christ.

There are times when we walk through a storm. We question if we were called, and not chosen. We wonder if God has forgotten His calling for us, or if He has somehow abandoned us. In 1 Timothy 4, Paul encourages and lifts up Timothy and spurs him on to more good works, advising his diligence in teaching, preaching, and public reading of scripture. He tells Timothy, and thereby tells us, to devote our lives to our calling. “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

…by example, by word, by our lives, we are saving both ourselves and our hearers; don’t give up the fight! Onward Christian Soldiers! Amen.

--Teresa Rowley