Are You Awake and Watchful?

The night of Jesus’ betrayal, he prepared himself for his coming ordeal with intense prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took the eleven disciples with him, but asked eight of them to wait in one place while he took Peter, James, and John a little further. Jesus then went on still further, instructing those three, “Remain here, and watch with me” (Matthew 26:38 ESV). But they fell asleep.

When Jesus returned, he admonished, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41 ESV). But the eyes of the disciples were heavy. When he returned, he again found them asleep. This time he went back to pray alone, leaving them asleep until his arrest was imminent.

Not many hours earlier, Peter had declared that he was willing to go to prison or even die rather than desert Jesus. We know how that turned out, but Jesus said he had prayed for Peter:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32 ESV).

The tone of Peter’s two epistles demonstrates that he hasn’t forgotten his own past or the admonition of his Lord that he should strengthen his brothers. In Peter’s second letter, he says he knows he’s near death. This gives him the same sense of urgency Jesus felt in Gethsemane:

“I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder . . . I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things” (2 Peter 1:13, 15 ESV).

Why the urgency?

Because the passions of the flesh are waging war against our souls. As Jesus warned, our flesh is weak. It wants us to give in to our passions. Giving in, lying down, closing our eyes for just a minute is so much easier than going to war, especially if our passions have become our bosom companions.

How do we wage war, then?

We must wake up and pay attention. In his second letter, Peter twice states his intention of waking us up completely, stirring us up. The writer of Proverbs tells us the sluggard won’t get out of bed because there might be a lion in the street. He doesn’t know that for sure. He hasn’t bothered to look out the window. That would be too much like work. On the other hand, we know there is a roaring lion out there seeking to devour us: our adversary, the devil (1 Peter 5:8 ESV). So we are to be sober-minded and watchful. We have to know where the enemy is and what he looks like in order to stand against him.

Now that we’re fully awake, we dress for battle. Before we reach for the armor, we need to clothe ourselves with humility (1 Peter 5:5 ESV). The word “clothe” here refers to an article of clothing worn by slaves. Putting this on first will help us keep a proper attitude toward God and our fellow soldiers. We must not begin to think we’ll be winning any battles on our own.

 

Now that we have a right perspective on who we are, we must prepare our minds for action (1 Peter 1:13 ESV). A literal rendering of “preparing your minds for action,” is to “gird up the loins of your mind.” This is the picture of someone in a long robe pulling the lower half up over his knees and fastening it around his hips with a belt so he can use his legs freely and quickly. How can we clear our minds of the things that tend to tangle our thinking and hamper movement?

We arm ourselves with the way of thinking that is just like Christ’s (1 Peter 4:1 ESV). Arming ourselves means that we furnish ourselves with the weapons and provisions we’ll need to stand up to the passions of our flesh and to the roaring lion. We acquire these by following in Christ’s footsteps. He committed no sin, no deceit was found in his mouth, he didn’t revile those who reviled him, and he didn’t threaten those who inflicted suffering on him. Rather, he continued to entrust himself to God, who judges justly.

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins,” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV).

If the battle for our souls was going to be quick and easy, Peter wouldn’t have needed to keep reminding us to be diligent. This is a battle to the death. We carry on, encouraging one another, because the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and we don’t want to be caught sleeping.

“But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace,” (2 Peter 3:13-14 ESV). 

Through the gift of a faithful mother and grandmother, Diane Pendergraft grew up knowing Jesus as a friend. Married for nearly two-thirds of her life, there has been time for several seasons, from homeschooling to owning a coffee shop. She has three grown children and eight grandchildren. An element of this season is writing about literature and life at Plumfield and Paideia.

Photograph © Amanda Dalbjörn, used with permission