MATTHEW 26:36-41 – Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Theme of the Day. LIVING A WATCHFUL LIFE. Today’s scripture finds our Lord Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is an intense time of warfare for Him. The horrors of what lies ahead for the Lord weighs Him down, even creating within Him agonizing of soul – “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” In Luke’s account, the spiritual battle is so intense that Jesus pours forth blood while praying – And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:44). Back to Matthew’s version, the Lord exhorts His disciples to be on watch against spiritual attacks. Three times, Jesus used the word “watch” to drive home this point to His disciples.
The Christian life demands a watchful posture. We are to be on guard against anything seeking to pull us away from Christ and leave us defeated on the spiritual battlefield of life. There are three specific areas we must be alert to in our walks with the Lord Jesus.
First, be watchful against becoming desensitized or callous toward sin. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus tells us what will happen to the soul that allows this to occur – And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). We live in an ever-increasing godless world with sin abounding. Don’t let the nearness of both cause us to become desensitized toward them. It will cool our hearts for Christ.
Another area to be spiritually on watch against is the danger of distraction. The age of distraction is upon us, and watch out for this deadening effect in our walk with the Lord, and especially the distraction of busyness, and that with good things. The classic example is Martha – Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).
The final area demanding watchfulness is deception, particularly self-deception. And that warned of by the Apostle James – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). The worst form of deception is self-deception, and that occurs when we think we are good spiritually, but we may not be. The issue with James is “don’t be content to simply know God’s Word. Strive to obey what we know.”
Yes, the Christian life is a war demanding a constant state of watchfulness. May the Lord help us maintain such a posture daily.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me to be alert every day of my life for things that harm me spiritually.”
QUOTE: “A Christian spiritually on watch will be a Christian growing in spiritual discipline.”