A Leader as Watchman

UV 1480/10,000 A Leader as Watchman
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Habakuk 2 v 1
Leadership is a lot like the duties and position of a watchman. A watchman is not the owner of the house but a servant employed and rewarded with wages to do his duties. The Lord is the owner of the house. We are like watchman anointed not appointed by the Lord. We wait not to warn people of dangers but to hear the Word of the Lord and pass it on to the people. A watchman lives not in terms of hours but in terms of the hours of watch- two to three hours. A spiritual watchman watches not at night but during every hour of the day. A watchman seeks a strategic point to watch. The strategic points or vantage points are the early hours of the day and the small hours of the night when we wait on the Lord in prayer.

A watchman uses his eyes to look out for approaching strangers and dangers. But we use our inner ear and vision to look out for signs and directions from the Lord. When we are questioned, the Lord will give us the word to speak. The answer of our mouths lie with the Lord. What do we look out for ? We need to carry what we see, hear and feel to the Lord in prayer and He will send His message as well as His messengers to the world. A watchman is also like a shepherd who watches his flock. We need to observe the flock or people we are responsible for and do what is required for their well being.

We need to be alert, sensitive and vigilant like watchmen. The Psalmist says that we should be eager to look out for the Lord and His word more than watchmen wait for the dawn that is a sign that they can rest. The Holy Spirit will lay on our hearts the burdens of the Lord- the things He is concerned about. Our own burdens and concerns He will lift. The things we stand for in our professions and lives mark out the issues of concern that we should look out for. The Lord in turn will watch our backs as we take a stand for Him in this world. When we stake our faith in a promise in God’s Word, we are setting ourselves up on a tower- a tower being a metaphor for a vantage point, a place of security, defence and sufficient provision, a position of prominence and pre-eminence.

Prateep V Philip