Time for Vigilance

(By Trust Inimgba)

At no time than now does the call for vigilance become most relevant.

We live in a world of pressure – political, social, and economic. There is so much competition and desire to acquire basic needs of life (food, clothing and housing) and yet the time is running fast.

We pay so much attention to these things of the world and forget to ‘remember Lot’s wife’ as instructed by our Lord Jesus in Luke 17:32. When God was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot, his wife and daughters were given four basic instructions:

  • Run for your lives.
  • Do not look back.
  • Run to the mountains.
  • Do not stop until you get to the mountains.

Lot’s wife failed to obey the instruction not to look back and for this reason was turned into a pillar of salt. She was offered the opportunity to escape but missed it.

Our Lord offers us the same opportunity today. In Luke 17:21, Jesus emphasizes the need for us to be vigilant and observant and also gives examples of those who refused to be vigilant and obey instructions. The rapture will be sudden and disaster awaits those who like Lot’s wife fail to obey instructions but look back. She placed so much attention on her earthly possessions that she could not understand the things that bring salvation or lead to the kingdom of God.

As children of God, do we run for our lives? Do we look back? Do we run to the mountains? And, do we stop running?

Running for our lives means fleeing from sin. This is a sure way to entering the kingdom of God. To flee from sin is to resist the devil and submit to God, and he (devil) will flee from us. John the Baptist, in Matthew 3:7, recognized that the Pharisees and Sadducees were fleeing from the wrath to come “Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

Looking back implies going back to sin and paying attention to worldly attractions rather than the things of God.

To run to the mountains is to forsake sin and surrender to Jesus , the provider of peace and safety.

To stop running is to backslide and go back to sin. When you stop preaching, meditating on the word and praying, then you have stopped running.

As we look forward to the return of our Lord Jesus, let’s remain vigilant and never look back. With prayers and by His grace, we would be counted worthy of entering His kingdom.


This article first appeared in THE MESSAGE.

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