As we near the end of another year and begin a new one, there are always a lot of mixed emotions as one ponders the events of the previous year while at the same time, we prepare and anticipate what’s coming in the new one. Humans are the only ones of God’s creatures who can do this, ponder the past and anticipate the future. While we are called to place our faith and trust in Jesus, we are also human and some of us may struggle with what has happened, or not happened, in 2025, as we anticipate what is coming in 2026.
I am acutely aware of the major disappointment that has befallen the watcher community, even as we cross over into a new year, a year we thought we would never see or experience; but alas, we are here. I should like to encourage you in your journey of faith and ascribe my top ten things for watchers to do as we enter into 2026.
1. Don’t Look Back. The past is gone will all of its high watch dates and seasons. While all of the testimonies and math and stellar alignments may have been just right for a Rapture; we’re still here, we must deal with it.
We tend to look back on what we did, what happened, or what we could have done if we knew now what we knew then. This is a trap from the enemy to keep our focus on where we are currently at and where we are going. A lot of good people said a lot of encouraging things regarding a 2025 Rapture; we are not to ponder on their words to our hurt. They got us through the ‘there and then,’ but alas, we are in the ‘here and now.’ God is the only One who can transcend time and space; we cannot, so let’s not waste time looking back and fantasying on how our lives might be better if we had only known then what we do now. There will be more high watch dates, temporal alignments, and words from the Lord. Guard your heart as you move forward. We can learn from the past, but not live there.
Paul said it this way, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (laid hold of); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” – Philippians 3:12,13
2. Don’t Blame Others. There we are lot of people who said a lot of things, set dates, made ‘word from the Lord’ statements, and even hosted watcher podcasts to usher in the Rapture. It’s not there fault, let it go.
It can be easy to put the blame on a fellow watcher and criticize their Rapture theories and potential dates. They like us, are just people, fellow believers who are looking for the Lord’s return. It’s in our fallen nature to attack those who hurt us or give us a false hope. We want someone to blame so we don’t look as foolish as other make us out to be as watchers. Our ‘foolishness,’ as they call it, is a matter of perspective. We are called to watch in conjunction to the Rapture by Jesus (Matthew 24,25) and in regard to our daily Christian faith by the Apostle Paul.
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13,14
Blaming others for their impotent high watch date only complicates our focus and reveals our immaturity. Ascribing a title as ‘false prophet’ to them will only sour your own faith and your watcher prowess. We need to pray for them, release them to the Lord, and move on in our faith walk. We’ve made mistakes too.
3. Don’t Get Discouraged. Some of us watchers live in very precarious and dyer situations. Our lives are as broken as our faith is challenged. Our hope is for the Rapture and when it’s deferred, it breaks our heart.
We watch because the Lord command us to do so. He may have even arranged our lives in such a way so that we would be watching for His return with a greater intensity they we would have otherwise if our lives weren’t so bifurcated. Each of us has something wonderful to offer the body of Christ. As believers in Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord lives within us, thus, if we’re in tune with Him, He will give us something good to prophesy about so that others will be encouraged.
“For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” – 1 Corinthians 14:31,32
The phrase, ‘the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets’ means that whatever flawed human element we bring into the word that we give will be reflected in its presentation. We must do our best to encourage others and to be an encouragement as we prophesy. This is what the Lord would have us experience and share.
4. Lean into the Loss. A mature watcher will not allow a passed high watch date to determine their faith in, and love for, the Lord. The deficit will only create a new opportunity for God to show up strong in our life.
Many believers forget that the real reason that they are discouraged over a past high watch date has less to do with their longing to escape from their life predicaments, and more to do with their love for the Lord. To put this another way, they are in love with Jesus and they want to be with Him in heaven. It’s a love story that is as old as time itself. The good news here is that Jesus wants to be with us more than we want to be with Him. He demonstrated this in an act of love that was revealed on the cross at Calvary. I would dare say that I would have done the same for Him in my fallen state.
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” – Romans 5:7-9
I’ve lost a lot in this life, but nothing that will ever separate me from God’s love for me. Sure I am disappointed over a pass high watch, but as I lean into that loss, I can see a new aspect of the hope I have in Jesus.
5. Refine Your Faith. Because we long to be with Jesus in heaven, we need to practice that experience and relationship while we are still one earth. We can renew our love for Christ daily as we read His Word and pray.
Daily devos are all part of our Christian life and thought. Believers who don’t spend time each day with the Lord in prayer, His Word, and other reads or acts of worship will only detour their faith, growth, and usefulness to the Master. Sure we are to be watching for the Lord’s return, but not at the expense of our time with Him or our service to Him. Past high watch dates can really take the proverbial ‘wind out of our sails’ if we allow it. However, we can choose to refine what we know to be true about what the world would look like during the season of the Lord’s return and allow that to move us forward in our faith. I spend everyday with Jesus. I get up early and read God’s Word, pray, and listen for His voice. I can’t make it through my day without His presence in my life. We have passed a lot of high watches, but our focus must be on Jesus, not a date or season.
6. Resolve to Improve. This is not so much a ‘new year’s resolution, but a renewed mindset when it comes to watching; which, by the way, begins with resolving to not stop watching. This act will reveal our maturity.
I know a fellow watcher who has decided to go to Bible school with our denomination and become a Children’s Pastor. She is already working with the children’s ministry in her local church and feels compelled to improve her serve, as it were, with focus and intention; all while looking for the Lord’s return. She is a woman who is in love with the Lord and she wants to please the Master by answering His call on her life to ‘suffer the little children and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.’ This same little lady stayed home from work on 9/25/25 because another high watch date had passed. The disappointment was real for her; as real as her love for the Lord, but she’s not giving up! Instead, she has resolved to improve her serve by pressing forward in her faith and her calling. While I could post a lot of Bible verses supporting this, but I think you get the point.
7. Balance Your Life. It’s good to spend time with Jesus. It’s good to watch and watch other watchers. It’s not good when that becomes your life. A mature watcher needs a healthy life balance as they serve the Lord.
I find myself more interested in the latest YouTube posts from certain watchers that I view and pray for. Some are more careful to not set dates, but to watch for certain high watch seasons. Others are more bold in setting dates and loose more credibility when that date passes. I find that this is all part of my overall life plan, but it’s only part of it. I love the Lord, I love my wife, and I love my family. My watcher prowess is all about my love for Jesus and His call on my life. I do a lot for the Lord and my life is a risen witness of His faithfulness to me and those whom I reach out to in His name. At 61, I find myself being able to do more than most guys my age, but at the same time, I haven’t lost my watcher prowess. For me, the key is balance. I work, I play, I rest, and I watch. This is a blessed life, but nothing compared to that which awaits us all who love Jesus in glory.
“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 (Isaiah 64:4)
8. Jesus is Coming Soon. He promised that He would come for us when all things are ready. His return is always in front of us; it’s never behind us; until it is. We are on this side of the Rapture. Stand fast in hope!
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” – Proverbs 13:12
The Lord’s return is soon, very soon, we just don’t know when. It could happen today, or in the very near future. It could happen during a high watch season, or on a random day that the Lord decided on before time, space, and creation began. What is immanence to us, is a certainty to God; we just don’t know exactly when that is. If you can’t handle the disappointment that comes with being a watcher, I encourage you to focus on something else. If you can flow with the loss associated with a passed high watch date, then welcome to the longing hearts club. I like to describe it this way, there are two bears, a mamma bear and a baby bear. The mamma bear has ten arrows in it and it’s struggling to walk; the baby bear has two arrows in it and it’s lying dead on the ground. POINT: Mature watchers can handle more arrows of disappointment, but they keep watching and serving. JICS!
9. Love Those Entrusted to You. Family is everything and as much as depends upon you to be a good steward of your family; do it. God has given us our family so we can be a light and show His love to them. Family first!
A man doesn’t leave his family; no matter what. He can rearrange his living conditions in a way that will facilitate a healthier home, but he stands with his own. This also goes for our ladies who are mothers. I have seen a lot of damage due to broken families; I come from one, believe me, I get it. We are called to love and lead as the Lord enables. One day we will give an account of our stewardship of those entrusted to our care at the Bema Seat of Jesus. We must remember that the Rapture of the Church leads directly to the Bema Seat; our departure is our judgment. We must be more concerned about our accountably upon our arrival into heaven than we are when we are leaving for it. We’ve all read the love chapter (1 Corinthians 13) and we know what the Lord expects. Our focus must be on our ‘love’ life here than it is our ‘rewards’ there. Make every day count.
10. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize. No matter how many high watch dates pass, we are never to lose our focus
on Jesus and what He is doing in the world. We must live our life to the fullest by fulfilling our call with grace.
Paul reminds us, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:1-3
Our focus on Jesus is not determined by a passed high watch date or season. We can enjoy the encouragement and hope that is associated with the anticipation of the Lord’s return during a certain time or feast, but it must never detour us in our walk with Christ or our service of Him. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will never fail us or let us down. He loves us and we can trust Him. Back in the 80’s I was a drummer in a Christian rock band called ‘Upward Call.’ Back then our love for Jesus was as fresh as our muscles were defined, our waist line was thin, and our head was full of hair. We didn’t get far, but we loved what we did and our band’s name spoke of our focus and resolve in our faith and love for Jesus. In the 40 plus years that have passed, we haven’t lost sight of our goal or our prize; and you shouldn’t either. Keep looking up, Jesus is coming for us. Stand by!
This being said, I should like to wish all of you a blessed and prosperous new year. However, in the event that we punch out of here before the ball drops, than I will see you on the other side. Either way, the above top ten watcher encouragement points are for all of us to ponder as we press on.
Blessings again my brothers and sisters in Chirst,
Pastor Rob Lee
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