A Moment of Reckoning

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? Proverbs 6:9

I am convinced that we all receive a wake up call at least once in our lifetimes. We don't always recognize it when it happens, but later we realize that's what it was. We are blessed if we can hear and know when God is trying to shake us loose from the shackles of slumber and delirium.

The Father of our souls is looking for long-term results, not short-term gains. We may look at our lives and say, "I'm doing fine...money in the bank, healthy family, faithful to attend church, etc." But God looks at us and is not satisfied until Christ is formed in us. God's eyes are on the inner self, not the outward man [see 1 Sam 16:7]. He knows when we're due for a wake-up call.

Peter the apostle had a wake-up call in the days following the Last Supper. In the warmth of fellowship among his ministry peers, he was quick to say, "Lord I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death" [Luke 22:33 KJV]. But later, in the warmth of the fire of scrutiny, he hastily denied any knowledge of Christ. Then, when he realized what he'd done and admitted how weak he truly was, his heart was broken, and a conversion took place.

God cannot fully use those who are totally self-reliant. It is from the broken places of our lives that we minister most effectively. It is from a state of utter hopelessness that we realize how much we desperately need God. Only when we reach this point are we emboldened to do what is beyond ourselves, because only then do we realize our strength is from God and not something we can conjure up ourselves.

So when your faith is shaken, when your world is suddenly turned upside down, stop and listen. Consider what's happening. It might be God's alarm clock going off in your life. Your wake up call, Arise and shine; resist the lure of the snooze button.

Lord Jesus, let me recognize the crucial moments of my existence. I don't want to be spiritually asleep. I want to be attentive to your workings, to your voice and your purpose.