Be alert

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. 1 Peter 5:8 The Message

Stay alert. Over the past month there has been a lot going on in our family. We have been alert to somethings, but not to other things - not to the subtle things that can cause distraction, disappointment, disharmony and ultimately disunity - just what the devil wants. Thankfully last night one of our children was alert, and  declared, 'Our family needs prayer'. And they were exactly right.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV

So this morning God spoke to be about staying alert to what is happening within our family, and not letting that core responsibility He has blessed me with, be overtaken by other responsibilities. God then reminded me of a conversation I had with a wise woman from church a couple of months after Victoria was diagnosed. I was complaining that Victoria only wanted me to help her, and this woman simply reminded me, 'Of course, you are her mother.' I had to take that response to God and learn that He has given me all I needed to indeed be her mother. And that if I carried that responsibility in His strength, not my own, I would get through.

So that was another example of me needing to stay alert, but this time, being alert to what God was wanting to teach me and change in me. 

Here are some other scriptures in which God tells us to be alert ...

Keep your eyes open for GOD, watch for his works; be alert for the signs of his presence. Psalm 105:4 The Message

Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Isaiah 43:19 The Message

Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing  you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire. Matthew 26:41 The Message

Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Colossians 4:2 The Message

Question for today, how alert are you to what is going on in and around your life? Are you alert to the enemy's plans? Are you alert to God's plans? If like me you get distracted sometimes, repent and ask God to open your eyes to what is going on, and to help you stay alert and see things from His perspective.

Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ - that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:2 The Message