Stay Woke

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.  1 Peter 5:8-9

The world has always be an uncertain place, and as an American, it feels like things are more uncertain now than ever.  There are many who worry in fear, but other worry not because they are afraid.  They worry because they see those around them fully accepting of what is happening in the world as ‘the new normal.’  It is a world where lies are acceptable, apologies are viewed as weakness, and we listen only if we agree with what is being said.  There are some who have adopted a calling by refusing to fall for the fallacies of current day times.  Their saying is simply, “Stay Woke.”  It is a reminder to always be alert and willing to stand up to wrongful things even if others will simply ignore or try to normalize it.  In thinking of this saying, it reminded me of our faith and how our staying comfortable in our faith can be very much like accepting a ‘new normal,’ and we too must always be on the alert.

We must be willing to become uncomfortable in our journey of faith so as to maintain spiritual alertness to what God is doing.  Spiritual growth is never about staying in the same place of comfort.  Furthermore, it is not about being successful all of the time.  It is about following God to learn about His will for our lives and getting up and continuing our walk if we falter.  We must stay alert to have an awareness of God’s intention for us.  It could be as simple as helping a child at Sunday school or as complex as adopting a child.  It may require a moment in your day to share the gospel or a drastic change in your career to answer God’s calling.  Regardless of God’s prompting, we must respond in order for growth to occur.  Failure to do so means we are subject to attack from an enemy who seeks to keep us stagnant where our spiritual journey will abruptly end as we our ‘devoured’ by the world as we know it.

None of us suffer in vain for God is always watching.  Today’s verses serve as both encouragement to stay strong in our faith and a warning to be aware of ways of the world.  God always maintains a light where we can see in the darkness, and He listens to our prayers.  So do not be afraid to move from where you are.  God is with you each and every step you take.  Trust that He will catch you if you fall and reward you abundantly for being faithful to His will for your life.  Keep alert to all that God is calling you.  What is it that He seeks from you today?  How can you ensure you are alert to what God calls you to do?  My prayer is that we push for our spiritual growth by choosing to ‘Stay Woke.’  Amen.

Asleep At The Wheel

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”  He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.  He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?  Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”  Matthew 26:36-41

My wife will testify that I do a lot of driving (about 40,000 miles a year).  Some days, I can barely hold my eyes open on the road.  Over the years, I have learned to find something to keep me awake like music, or if on a long road trip, I find a safe spot to rest for a moment.  The key is that when driving, I am always alert to what may be going on so that I do not endanger not only the people with me but also the other drivers.  After all, it only takes one moment of distraction to change the lives of others, and I do not want to be asleep at the wheel when something might happen.

We should always be alert to what God might have planned for we might miss when He is up to something.  I have read today’s verses multiple times focusing on the humility of Jesus wanting to do God’s will over His own.  However, I did not fully focus on the part of Peter, James, and John falling asleep while Jesus was praying until now.  Here it is, the people who were back then the most loyal to Jesus, and they were sleep on the job!  Now I’m sure that was not their intention, but they had not realized this was the day before the crucifixion.  Had they truly been ‘awake,’ they would have understood why Jesus instructed them as He did, and perhaps they would have embraced this moment more than they did.  As we grow in our faith, we too can ‘fall asleep’ when God is instructing us to do something.  Taking that into consideration, this story becomes a warning of sorts for all of us.  Jesus instructs us to keep an eye out and pray faithfully for the world is filled with temptation, and if we are not wise and awake to it, we will stumble and fall.

We must be vigilant in our focus on Jesus.  There are plenty of worldly distractions, and when we are not distracted, our faith can be under duress such that we grow tired and weary.  But today’s verses should help us understand that Jesus knows this and instructs us to ‘keep watch and pray’ for “(God) gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29)  By doing this, we are always on a mission for God.  Are there areas of your faith that need an awakening?  What will you do to stay alert to God’s prompting?  My prayer is that as we begin to reflect on the final days of Christ on earth, let us remember to stay alert to God at all times so that we do not fall asleep at the wheel.  Amen.