Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
I Peter 5:8, KJV
“Keep your head on a swivel!” my cousin recently said concerning a hurricane headed toward my daughter’s city; she didn’t quite know what that meant and I had to clarify. I definitely didn’t have anything spiritual in mind at all and just gave an “off the cuff” definition. While digging into I Peter 5:8, I found that keeping your head on a swivel is perfectly suited advice for life in this world! The Urban Dictionary states it as “to be constantly moving your head left and right so that you do not miss anything approaching you from a blind spot.” The phrase is often used in the military and in sports and is well aligned with the notion in I Peter 5.
“Be vigilant” from this verse originates from the Greek word “grēgoreō, defined as:
1.) to watch 2.) metaphorically – give strict attention to, be cautious, active; to
take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.
As a teacher, I want to say, “pay attention,” which isn’t inaccurate, but it’s more serious than ABCs and 123s. There’s potential danger to avoid! We have a real enemy with definite schemes. He has been ultimately defeated, of course, but without our attentiveness, he is ready to devour. The NASB version of I Peter 5:8 says it like this – “Be on the alert.” Most King James Version translations of grēgoreō, Strong’s Concordance number G1127, give us the word “watch” (21x); once we get the I Peter “be vigilant,” and “wake” (I Thes. 5:10) is used once.
I want to be watchful, to avoid being devoured; I want to know why I’m watching, what I’m to keep an eye out for, and what else I should be doing! I know you do too. The twenty-one uses of “watch” help direct us.
Watch because….
-As noted, we have a real enemy! (I Peter 5:8)
-We are prone to temptation and our human nature is weak to stand against it!
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:41
-Jesus is coming when we least expect it!
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Matthew 24:42-43
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Revelation 3:3
See also, Matthew 25:13, Mark 13:34-37, Luke 12:37-39
Watch and…
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Acts 20:31
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
I Corinthians 16:13
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Colossians 4:2
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
I Thessalonians 5:6
Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Revelation 3:2
In closing, let’s focus on a time when Jesus asked his closest followers to watch. Notice He said “with me.” Even our Lord had to keep His head on swivel.
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:37- 41 (see also Mark 14)
I have always been saddened by the disciples’ inability to watch with the Lord and have shamed myself for the same. Thankfully, Jesus looked on them with compassion, knowing that their intentions were right, but the human flesh doesn’t always follow through. In the time that passed after those verses, perhaps Jesus prayed for them, for the trials that He knew awaited them, for the work that they had ahead. The word says “watch,” friends, for our protection, for our eternal security; you see, we can look to Jesus; we can look to the joy that was set before Him – the joy that enabled Him to endure the unthinkable so that we can be with Him forever and ever!
Mat 26:37- 41
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Devotional by Heather Cornett
