Awake, O Sleeper

I’d love to say I have a good excuse for being away for so long, but I don’t have one. I got caught up in the busyness of life- starting home learning, visiting family back home, preparing for a move, the actual move, the nesting in to our new home, and currently establishing routines back into our day. There has been a lot of disruption to our day-to-day life which made it easy for me to let my morning prayer time and Bible reading slip. I justified all my choices simply to alleviate the guilt I truly felt. Now this guilt I felt didn’t come as a result of neglecting something I was forced to do, but rather, something I truly enjoyed doing. I loved my morning time with God. It was just me and Him and a warm cup of tea. It was the stillness to soak in His Word without distraction and the silence to worship wholeheartedly. I truly missed this time with Him and longed to have it back. I knew exactly what I needed to do to rekindle my relationship with Him, yet it was so much easier to give excuse after excuse for each passing day and my choosing of earthly things over Him.

It was about a week after I had moved into the new house, that my dear friend sent me this passage of Scripture:

I can’t express how thankful I was to receive this passage. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I can only explain it as the Lord giving me the gentle nudge I needed to redirect my focus back to Him- a reminder to put aside the things I felt needed to be done, like paint the house and hang photos, instead of making the time to read my Bible, get into prayer, reflect and praise Him.

How easy it is to hit the snooze button when your alarm goes off each morning. Before long, it becomes a morning habit. In my disoriented state, I easily justify the extra 10 minutes of sleep. But before I know it, I’ve overslept by 30 minutes or more.  It’s such a horrible feeling to finally awake from your sleep to realize that you overslept, you’re running behind, late for appointments, or simply wasted a good part of the day.

This isn’t the first time, I’ve hit snooze in my Christian walk. When I first became a Christian, I remember being enthralled in the Word daily. That September, I had a plan to read through the Old Testament in a year and was set on meeting this goal.  By the time summer came, I had reached my goal, our small group was wrapping up for the year and I was excited to enjoy everything summer encompassed- camping, beach, picnics, get togethers, gardening, house projects and more. With each passing day of summer, I hit the snooze button and before long my Bible had a pile of dust accumulating on it. By the end of summer, I felt so distant from God. I had let our relationship drift, which allowed Satan to weasel his way in. Satan loves when we create opportunities for him to intercede into our lives. It took him no time at all to start planting seeds of doubt. Thankfully, September was right around the corner and small groups began again. It was there that I shared the doubt I struggled with over the summer months and how aware I became of my daily need for God.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes, 

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:15-20)

These passages are great reminders to wake up from the slumber we are in. They warn us not to snooze through life, but rather make the most of every opportunity. It’s too easy to indulge in our earthly desires and neglect our heavenly Father. Our understanding of time is so vastly different from God’s. What we consider a life time is simply a glimpse compared to eternity. When He returns, I want Him to know me. I want Him to call me by name and embrace me.

So, what does this look like for me…

It’s choosing to read my Bible at breakfast rather than scrolling through Facebook

It’s choosing to fill the house with worship music rather than silence

It’s choosing to read Christian literature before bed rather than binge watching Netflix

It’s choosing to converse about Jesus while we eat, rather than nit pick at table etiquette

It’s these simple choices that I am confronted with daily. I have the choice to choose between what is wise and what is foolish.  My heart yearns to do what is right but so often I choose poorly.

Lately, I’ve been praying “Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t control. I want more of You, God.” It’s lyrics from the song “Set A Fire,” by Will Reagan. When I first listened to this song, it completely moved me in such a powerful way. All I could think is, “Yes! This is what I am longing for, this is what my heart desires.” My prayer for you is that if you are feeling distant from God or longing to rekindle that relationship with Him that you will pray for Him to move powerfully through you–to set a fire in your soul and awake you from your slumber.

Many Blessings!

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