“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.”
Mark 13:32–33, ESV
Our Lord warns us to be awake in preparation for what is to come. We should not live our lives in a haze but are called to be prepared and ready for what is to come. God desires for us to see all things clearly and to stand firm against those things that are contrary to God’s will. The world is filled with treachery, and God’s will is willfully ignored by those who wish to live in rebellion. God did not create sin. We have the propensity for sin because of how God created us, however. We are created in His image, but we are not Him. We are created with a will similar to His, but we are not meant to be in control. God desires us to submit to His will, yet we consistently try to make God submit to our own. It is dizzying to think about, and it causes our minds to become clouded in an unreality that makes us believe that we are in control. We are not the masters of our own destiny, but we are servants awaiting our master’s return. He will return, and we are being reminded that we should be standing ready when He does. The timeline is not our concern, but our heart’s preparation is as we stand firm in doing what we know that our master, our God, desires. We stand prepared, and though we know we have not completed our task to perfection, our Lord has a reward awaiting those of us who have kept the faith and held to what we know to be right. Let us be known as children of God and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ to the day we take our blessed rest in Him and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.