Be Watchful

Have you ever watched little boys pretend to be soldiers? They tuck toy guns by their side and army crawl around the house, looking left and right, peeking around corners. The older brother usually tells the younger one to stand guard at their fort and keep watch for the bad guys.

This is a picture of what God is calling men to do. Whether you're single or married, young or old, with a family or without family—being watchful is a high calling, and you've been given the strength to fulfill it. But here’s the thing—your strength is not primarily for you; it’s for someone else.

We have a real Enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy. He aims to take out the defender, so that everyone else is left defenseless. When the Enemy takes out a man, everyone suffers. The ripple effect is devastating when a man abandons his post in pursuit of something—or someone—else.

The Enemy uses at least five key tactics to take out men: pride, anxiety, laziness, isolation and lust.

Prideful people have two options: be humble or be humbled. Every knee will bow before King Jesus. You can either bow now—by choice—or wait until it’s too late and bow at a time of His choosing.

Anxiety is closely tied to pride, because when your identity is wrapped up in anything other than you being a child of God, worry creeps in. You panic about things like money or status, because if those things change, you fear your identity will too.

Laziness is wrapped up in a relentless pursuit of comfort—and that pursuit is completely at odds with the gospel. While you sit by, distracted and abdicating responsibility, the Enemy is prowling around, looking to devour the ones you love. Wake up. Sober up. Get in the game. Pursue Jesus, your wife, your children, your friends.

In prison, the ultimate form of human punishment is isolation. Have you ever thought about that? I know you think you don’t need people or help, but if that isn’t one of the biggest lies the Enemy uses, I don’t know what is. Who does the lion go for in the herd of antelope? The weak one—the one all alone on the outskirts, dragging behind. Isolation puts a giant red target on your back, and the Enemy wants you to keep repeating the three most dangerous words: “I got this.”

You don’t have it. There was only one man in the history of mankind who did—and you’re not Him.

The fifth tactic—lust—is not explicitly stated in the Scriptures you read today, but I think we can all agree it is a powerful tactic of the Enemy, perhaps even the most powerful. If the other four tactics are arrows trying to pierce you, lust is like an arrow dipped in gasoline and set on fire. Lust has destroyed marriages, families and entire lives.

As the apostle Paul writes, “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV). This doesn’t mean to toe the line or flirt with it—it means to run away as fast as you can.

If you were the Enemy, how would you come after you? The answer to that question is exactly where you need to get in the game and fight. But don’t fight alone. Without Jesus and His Spirit living in you, you won’t make it very far. You need Him—and you need brothers around you who you can be real with.

Remember, you are fighting from Christ’s victory, not for it.

What do I do now?

If you don’t have godly men in your life, start asking God to provide four men who will come alongside you—men who will pick up your mat and carry you when you can’t fight anymore. The best way to find these kinds of men is to commit to being that kind of man for others.