Fully Awake

One night I was up with my son a few times changing him, feeding him and putting him back down. The last waking of the night it was different. His little belly was hurting him so bad that he became fully awake.

Every other time he woke up he had something that disrupted his comfort but it didn't take much soothing before he was lulled back to sleep again. You see, we can be a lot like this in our spiritual walk, we're nice and comfortable and then something happens and we're jarred awake. But it doesn't take long before we are lulled back to sleep.

The Word of God warns us about the dangers of sleep:

Proverbs 6:9-11 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 19:15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry

Revelation 3:15-16 says, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

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There is a story in Matthew 13 about a farmer who planted his wheat, then while he was sleeping his enemy came in and planted weeds to try and ruin his crop! "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)

Time and time again we see in scripture when Jesus goes up to pray and the disciples sleep and Jesus rebukes them for this. But look at Luke Chapter 9, the transfiguration of Jesus; Jesus had taken Peter, James and John to a mountain top to pray then Jesus transfigured and "as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." Scripture says that "Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory"

The world that most of us live in is not one that is ridden with extreme physical possession that we read about or even hear about going on in third world countries. What we face is something that seems so much smaller, but man oh man is it dangerous! We face complacency and comfort. We face mundane, "good enough" mind sets. We are neither hot nor cold, we aren't "terrible" people, but we definitely are not fully awake to the plans and purpose of God. It doesn't take much to lull us into complacency, but that's not what God has for us!

I would never want sleep (of any form) to be the cause of missing out on God's purpose for you and me! let God, breathe his might breath on you! Let his Spirit do a new thing in your soul. Let Him awaken you!

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"...when they became fully awake, they saw his glory"

~Awaken Us~

Brenna Stanford