The Lonely Road of a “Watchman” — The Cost of Standing for Jesus Christ (KJV)

Aug 10, 2026 | www.gospelofjesuschrist.blog | River Wilde

There can be a tremendous personal cost to standing openly for Jesus Christ and warning others about what Scripture says is coming. Sometimes that cost is not financial or physical—it is loneliness, and isolation.

Friends may distance themselves. Family members may not want to hear what you have to say. People may mock your beliefs, dismiss your warnings, or simply stop listening. At times, you may begin to wonder whether speaking at all is worth the price. Yet when we open the Bible, we discover that standing faithfully for God has often been a lonely road.

The prophets of Scripture were not always surrounded by people applauding their message. Often, they delivered precisely the message people did not want to hear. God described the responsibility of a watchman to Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 33:7 (KJV):
“So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.”

Notice something important: the watchman’s responsibility was to deliver God’s warning. He could not force anyone to believe it. He could not compel repentance. His responsibility was faithfulness to what God had actually revealed.

Consider what Noah’s experience may have felt like:

• The loneliness of believing God’s warning while virtually the entire world continued living as though nothing were coming.
• The questions and doubts that may have surrounded him as he built an enormous ark in preparation for “things not seen as yet” (Hebrews 11:7, KJV).
• The possibility of ridicule or rejection from those who could not understand why he remained so firmly committed to God’s warning.
• The tremendous responsibility he must have felt for his family, knowing that his obedience to God’s instructions was connected with their rescue from the coming Flood.
• The isolation of possessing a firm conviction concerning something that had not yet happened and that virtually no one else appeared to understand.
• The challenge of continuing day after day, building the ark while waiting for God’s warning to become reality.
• The faith required to keep going without immediately seeing the fulfillment of what God had promised.

So, how did Noah do it? How did he remain strong when it must have felt like he was against the entire world? Noah did not need the world to understand why he was building the ark. He believed God—and kept building.

Let’s see what the scriptures teach us about this.

Hebrews 11:7 (KJV)

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

For those who have learned the truth of what is coming, we must have FAITH. Noah continued because he believed God’s warning before he could see any evidence of its fulfillment. His strength was faith.

His strength did not come from other people, it was because of his own FAITH in God, specific to what God had revealed to him. Does our faith waiver when we are mocked? Is it diminished by those who call us crazy?

Noah demonstrated that a person can continue through all of these hardships by continuing to have FAITH in God, and God’s plan. Let’s keep learning.

Genesis 6:8–9 (KJV):

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

This may be the heart of the answer: Noah walked with God. His confidence did not depend upon whether the surrounding world agreed with him.

Genesis 6:22 (KJV):

“Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”

God gave Noah an extraordinary assignment, and Noah simply continued doing what God had commanded. His focus was entirely upon obeying God, and doing what He had asked him to do. He didn’t focus upon the reaction from others to charter his course. It was firm in following God, and fulfilling his assignment.

Genesis 7:5 (KJV):

“And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.”

Scripture repeats this point. Noah’s faith wasn’t merely something he believed internally—his faith produced obedience.

2 Peter 2:5 (KJV):

“And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

Noah wasn’t merely building an ark. Peter calls him a “preacher of righteousness.” He remained identified with righteousness while living in an overwhelmingly ungodly world.

Genesis 6:11–12 (KJV):

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”

This gives us the environment in which Noah remained faithful. He was surrounded by corruption, yet “Noah walked with God.”

And Jesus gives Noah’s story special significance when speaking about His own return:

Matthew 24:37 (KJV)
“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

I think Hebrews 11:7 captures this point especially well:

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet…”

Noah didn’t need the world around him to validate God’s warning. He trusted God concerning something he had not yet seen, continued doing what God commanded, and remained faithful until the day God’s warning became reality.

For someone who feels alone while watching for Christ, and sharing those teaching of the prophets with others, there is a beautiful lesson here:

Noah’s strength wasn’t that everybody eventually understood him. His strength was that he walked with God, believed what God had revealed, and faithfully continued doing what God had given him to do.

We cannot focus on what others “think” of us. We cannot despair that because of our firm conviction and beliefs, it is creating hardships for others, for this in itself could be their very own test of faith. We can definitely pray for our families and friends who are experiencing hardships because of our “Excessive Commitment” of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prophecies of the end times.

There is so much wisdom written in the bible. There is also an incredible amount that we can learn from prophets of God, in dealing with some of the consequences that come from serving God, and trying to fulfill the assignments which He has asked of us.

To me, I find some comfort in focusing on “life” after this, being with Jesus Christ, rather than reliving the emotions from the persecution and hardships that I am now experiencing.

I think of my time with Christ, and the possibility of receiving something very sacred and special from Him: A Crown of Glory!

1 Peter 5:2–4 (KJV)

2 “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

For preaching the Gospel and bringing people to Christ, the crown most often associated with that work is the Crown of Rejoicing, sometimes called the “soul-winner’s crown.”

1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 (KJV)

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

For ye are our glory and joy.”

Paul similarly speaks about those he helped bring and establish in Christ:

Philippians 4:1 (KJV)

“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”

So, the distinction is helpful:

Crown of Glory → faithfully shepherding God’s flock.
Crown of Rejoicing → associated with people reached and established through Gospel ministry.

Most of us serving Jesus Christ do not do so for a reward. But there is so much joy in thinking that one day, we who preach of Him and have been mocked because of it, will be recognized personally by Jesus Christ for doing what He has asked of us, regardless of such persecution.

Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never promised an easy road. Those who openly stand for Christ may experience rejection, ridicule, loneliness, misunderstanding, opposition, and even the loss of relationships, just as many of Christ’s earliest followers did.

Paul wrote that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12, KJV),

while Jesus warned, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Yet hardship does not make the Gospel less worthy of proclaiming.

Paul endured tremendous suffering and still declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16).

The Christian’s responsibility is not to force people to believe, nor to measure success by how many people listen, but to faithfully plant and water while trusting God to give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).

Even when sharing Christ becomes lonely or costly, we can continue with love and humility, remembering that our greatest reward does not come from the approval of people, but from faithfully serving the Lord.

So, to all of you “watchmen,” who are feeling the arrows of discouragement because of the mocking, and being ignored from SO MANY people in your life, let us learn from Noah how we can successfully proceed in our “calling.”

1. Have FAITH in what He has called you to do!
2. Know that there is STRENGTH in walking with Him. Let Him carry the burden when it becomes too heavy.
3. Understand that what we are doing is NOT for popular opinion, or acceptance. this is not our desired outcome.
4. Keep you focus on the “prize” which is to live with Jesus Christ “forever.”

Our mortal journey is about to be completed, so let’s all recommit to finishing strong!

Those who mock, or ignore us will have their own consequences to face, and they are not of our concern. God loves them as well, and has a plan for them to learn “The Hard Way” through the events of the final Seven Years on Earth.

We cannot feel responsible for them ignoring the teachings from God’s prophets regarding the last days. He has provided these teachings thousands of years ago for all mankind to know.

There is also tremendous comfort in knowing that you will be included in the rapture, and will live with Jesus Christ Forever in the Heaven which He will create for us. We should keep this as our focus.

So, from one watchman to another, “Thank you” for doing what you are doing, in trying to bring people to Christ. I, for one, admire your courage and determination to keep going, inspite of all of the resistance that you are receiving from others, as well as the adversary.

Our “shift” is just about over. =) …And you all know about the celebration that Christ already has planned for us, as well as all others who are “in Christ.” Can you even imagine how glorious that time will be? And, for this special occasion, we will have our “Perfect Bodies” as we attend this event.

No more sickness, physical imperfections, nor mental hardships…Just “PERFECT” and ready to participate in the most glorious event to come…The Wedding Feast of Christ. I’ll see you there!

P.S. I wanted to share a personal experience that just happened. Obviously, you can tell from my writing today that I’m in a moment of despair, as what I do leads to incredible loneliness and a feeling of isolation at times.

I went to open the mail that was on my desk, that I had received from the past several days, and on one of the letters, it was addressed to my son Tyler Wilde. Tyler has never lived in this house with us, as he was killed in a motorcycle accident Nineteen years ago. The letter was simply an advertisement, and was not in itself significant.

But when I read his name on the letter,I heard these thoughts in my mind: “I’m here with for you dad! You’re not alone, I’m on the team…you’ve got this!”

This indeed was a “tender mercy” from God. Even as I write these words right now, the SPIRIT is so strong within me. An answer from God, who sees me struggle in doing His work is “delivered” by Him, reaching out in such an unusual way.

To some, this might seem like a big deal, but this message was not for them, it was for me. And I heard it loud and clear. My son, who was also my best friend, is by my side! I am not alone, and am with one of my favorite people…My son!

I so testify that God hears and answers our prayers. So, when life get difficult, go out and “check the mail!” =)