Wake Up Call
“….for it is light that makes everything visible. That is why it is said:
Awake, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!”
One of the amenities found at the Crowne Plaza Hotel we’re staying at on this trip to New York City is one found in every motel and hotel around: the wake up call. Whether it is for catching an early morning flight, getting up after getting to bed way too late, or serving as an extra alarm clock, the wake up call is an invaluable service. I’ve used it when traveling alone and used it to wake up every room on our school trips to Washington; yes, the wake up call is a nice thing!
Of course, we all know that the Master of the wake up call is God, using the circumstances of life to wake us up from spiritual slumbers and from times of drifting away from Him. How many can relate to events happening in our lives that served as wake up calls from heaven, reminding us that we’ve stopped praying, or that we’ve gotten away from the place of trusting God for our lives and have, instead, taken matters into our own hands or fallen into depression or despair. Maybe it was a disagreement with a loved one, someone close to us getting sick, or hearing a “no” on something we were so sure would happen, our regular need for wake up calls is both true and unfortunate.
Jesus repeatedly had to wake up the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane when he had asked them to pray as he went further into the garden and prepared to go to the cross. It is from that encounter that we have the words: “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?” and “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. Our getting tired from the busyness of life and losing our focus on the things of God is understood in part, but we must be on guard against missing God’s wake up calls, those invitations to see with the eyes of God what is needed in our walk with Him.
God’s wake up calls are as varied as we can imagine: wake up calls to prayer, wake up calls to holiness, wake up calls to faithfulness, devotion, and commitment, and wake up calls to not ignore or avoid others who may need us at this time in their lives. But consider this: how much better would it be to live in the Spirit, to live with an awareness of the needs around us, and to constantly be searching our heart to make sure we are walking in the light we’ve been given. Let’s ask the Lord to bring us to that place where we are awake to the things of God and to the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
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