Wake Up!

by Candace Cortez

It amazes me how God has made so many people unique and different and the same all at the same time. I am also surprised that for many people, He has given them the gift of morning love. I do not have this gift. I loathe all mornings. I am productive in the morning because I have to be. I am awake in the morning literally only because I have children and a job. If I had total freedom to choose, my day would start at 10am (which is like the cool uncle version of mornings). For me, waking up is daily battle number one.

As I was struggling to claim my joy and my victory over this morning, I remembered Ephesians 5:14 which reads “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."

There are many verses of scripture that liken being asleep to being dead. This is not a physical situation, it’s definitely a spiritual situation.

Pop culture has gotten hold of this concept and there is a word buzzing around which is used to identify someone who is socially aware and sensitive to what’s going on in the community. This word is “woke.” Like, “that person is woke, they volunteer in the neighborhood every week.” (Consider this the first edition of your friendly youth pastor slang training!)

Although it is not a word I use personally, I do believe some of us struggle to wake up more than others. Here are a few of the struggles. And they are real.

Waking up is hard because we are comfy where we are sleeping. Sometimes the idea of getting out of our cozy blankets and stepping into the cold seems so uninviting. The same can be said spiritually and socially. We are comfy where we are. We are not being challenged and we like that. Yes, we know there is more out there, but we don’t really care, because here right in front of us is so good. Do not let complacency be the death of you!

Waking up is hard because once I wake up, I have to do so much! Staying in my bed means I don’t have to worry about making lunches, going to work, or even picking out the outfit of the day! For some of us, we have this glimpse of what’s going on in the world: racism, poverty, corruption, injustice, natural disasters, and we think to ourselves, that’s just too much to try to figure out. There is too much to do. This is actually true. There is too much to do for one person. Luckily, you are not alone. We all need to wake up and work together to help each other get to a better place socially. And spiritually, sometimes we lose the joy of spiritual disciplines. Sometimes we are not carrying the natural desire to pray, and study, and share our faith, because the work is never done. But God is calling us to not put our faith to sleep! Be active in growing and sharing. The fruit of being alive in Christ is SO WORTH IT!

Waking up is hard because I didn’t set my alarm. Sometimes I am blessed with a morning to not need to set my alarm. I still wake up earlier than I would like, but I very rarely wake up as early as I would if I were to set my alarm. We need social and spiritual alarms in place in our life to wake us up when we fall asleep. I find the best alarms in honest friendships. People in my life who can let me know when I have grown too comfortable or too afraid to progress. We can also find alarms in exposure to new experiences. If we push ourselves out of our routines to see the world and to see God from a new perspective, we may have a greater chance of responding to the needs of our community and the call of God on our hearts. 

So, WAKE UP! Do not be dead to the one who made you and the planet He put you on! In the process, God will shine on you! Don’t miss out on the blessing of living your life totally awake.

Rest Robbers

by Tim Howard

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which people have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while they sleep. It disrupts a person’s sleep and when they awaken they don’t feel rested. I know, because I am one of those who struggle with this.

You may not be wrestling with this disorder but you may be robbed of rest in other areas. You can lose sleep when you are worried about your past decisions. Especially if your past choices are causing negative ramifications in the present – true rest becomes elusive.

You may be among those who are restless and losing sleep over the current world conditions.  The threat of global recession, continuing wars, famines, natural disasters and incurable diseases – they can rob a person of their rest.

What about the future? The fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of what lies ahead, the possibilities of disaster that awaits. All these things can be rest robbers unless you follow God’s prescription for finding peace.

In Hebrews chapter 4 the author shows us a way to find true rest.  This rest is defined as a ‘peace from God’ that will allow you to sleep all night long and have pleasant dreams.  Check out what Paul the Apostle says in Philippians 4:7.  He tells us that this peace defies logic because it’s not connected to external things.  You can be in the middle of a raging storm and still sleep like a baby.  Mark 4:38 records a time when Jesus did just that.

The goalie who played for the United States soccer team alluded to this scripture in Philippians when he recently said: “I am blessed to be living a dream.  And yet, if it all went away tomorrow, I know I would still have peace. That probably sounds crazy to most people, but that’s the kind of peace Christ gives. It is rooted in His love and it surpasses all understanding.”

There is a peace that grows strong when you stop worrying about your past and fretting about your future. Those two things are not the solution and do not produce peace or rest.

When you won’t leave the past hurts, the problems, the misunderstandings, the grudges and the resentments behind – they infect your present reality and don’t affect it in a positive way. 

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah tells us:  ‘Do not be obsessed with the former things or continually focus on the things of the past.” Why? They will rob you of peace and rest.

Regarding the future, Jesus said these words in Matthew 6:34 …do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Your decisions today actually shape your tomorrows and release God’s peace now. You can determine today that the rest of your days will be the best of your days. 

We were not created to live in the past or the future but in the present.  Rest and peace are not available to those who are obsessed with ‘what was’ or overly focused on ‘what will be’ – but to those who choose to embrace ‘what is.’ 

When you are at peace – you rest well. World peace in the external realm can only happen when people have an internal peace. God offers a peace through Jesus that is an eternal peace and can be experienced internally and externally. This possibility was declared by the angels “Peace on Earth…”