Keeping your stance

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the Lord said to me...“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. Habakkuk 2:1, 2, 4 The watchman’s job was very important. From the text, the prophet was resolved to be firm in his stance. This means that his spiritual conviction should be founded upon his trust in God and His word. He took it upon his shoulder the responsibility for those who were given under his care. He has to keep watch on possible threat lurking around. His task was critical that the people should be alerted as soon as possible to what was coming. When you came to know Christ as Lord and Savior, God placed you as a guard for yourself, your friends, your family, and your church family. This is why you have to be attentive to what God is saying. In His word, you could find words of encouragement for those who will need it. You are also given charge to provide help to your children as they face difficult challenges. God can use your prayer and devotional times so He could speak to you as He reveals to you how you can help them. In your spiritual alertness, you may receive a warning from God that He wants you to take so you will not give in to temptation and that others could also benefit from the same warning so they too will not give in. Once you neglect this important responsibility, your putting yourself and your family in grave danger. This could also lead to a missed opportunity on what God wants to reveal to them because you are unaware to God’s message. Do not let others miss the encouraging promise from God that He wanted to share through you. You are accountable as God’s watchman. “But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity” (Ezekiel 33:6). So strive to be alert to every word that comes to you from God. Your persistence in hearing from God through His word will benefit you and those around you as you follow God’s warnings and follow His commands. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).