““But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”” Luke 21:34-36 (NKJV)
Jesus, here, is talking about a set of things that will stop you from escaping the difficult times which will come on all those dwell on the face of the whole earth. Here we can see the Day of the destruction of the temple took place already and also the escaping of the Jewish Christians during the time when Titus Caesar took over Jerusalem in the first century. But the Day of the Son of Man i.e. Jesus is yet to come; and it will come suddenly when we are least expecting, so we got to be living at this present 21st century, as if, it would happen any time. Because we are at the end of 2000 years of the Gentiles church time so we got to be following all the instructions of our Lord Jesus to escape.
Our hearts should not be burdened down with-
- Carousing / Amusement: Having a carefree life with food and entertainment, is the life style that has become the norm nowadays; both young and old are involved in these, as if, without that they cannot relax or rest. The Lord is warning us not to be careless like this, instead read the Word of God and pray in tongues always. This way you can have a good fellowship with God and get help and instructions as to when and what to do. Holy Spirit is speaking all the time but we should stop other activities to listen John 10:3-6(NIV).
- Drunkenness / Gluttony: If you are having alcohol in your food diet then you are drinking too much. Or you have a bad habit of eating, planning all the time and being engaged that way. Jesus is telling us not to worry about what to eat or drink; or about body Matthew 6:25(NIV), in the sense, even worrying in the normal way itself is not good, forget getting overindulged. This way of living weighs you down.
- Cares for this life / Worry: We are supposed to live as passers-by 1 Peter 1:17(NIV) . We should not plan too much as if you are living forever in this world. Our home is in heaven with Jesus and till He comes to take us we are foreigners. In the sense, we should not follow the pattern of the people who do not know the Lord.
When we put all these away, we will be better off to concentrate on our spiritual life. We should watch and pray all the time 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24(NIV) This is one of the commands of the Lord Jesus and all for our good only, so that, we can escape tribulations, that is hitting this world, even right now.