Is God Telling You “Don’t Hit the Snooze Button?”
I don’t know why, but every so often, I can’t sleep. Does that ever happen to you? There doesn’t appear to be any logical reason, I just can’t sleep.
The other night I went to bed and as I always do, I picked up my book to read. While reading I became very drowsy, so I turned off the light and rolled over. No sooner than I did, my eyes popped open and there I was wide awake.
My mind began to race about what I needed to do the next day. I made mental lists. I remembered tasks I had not completed the day before. The more I could not sleep, the more anxious I became. I prayed and asked God to settle me. I threw one leg out of the covers. I sat up. I turned on the light. I watched Gunsmoke. I just couldn’t get comfortable. The clock on the nightstand seemed to glare at me. I readjusted my pillow. I even tried to work a crossword puzzle. Nothing worked. Finally, my restlessness calmed and the last time I looked at the clock it was 4am.
It is so frustrating, but the older I get, I notice I have more of these non-sleeping nights. I try to remember not to drink my beloved tea before bed. I have even limited my screen time after supper. Sometimes these changes help, but more often than not, they don’t. In my case, I think it is just part of the aging process. Regardless of the reason, it leaves me irritated and exhausted the next day.
The thing is, we all have to get our sleep.
It is a natural part of being human and essential for our overall good health!
You know, the Bible has a lot to say about sleep. Many verses refer to resting in Him. But I want to look at another aspect of sleep.
In Mark, chapter 13, Jesus tells a story of being watchful for His return. He says we do not know when the owner of the house will return…whether it’s the evening or late at night or at dawn. Then He says do not let Him find us sleeping.
What does this mean? Well, specifically to us ‘seasoned’ gals, I think we can see it as Jesus telling us He is not finished with us yet. He wants us alert, faithful and on guard. Just because we are no longer as active in the world as we once were, does not mean we don’t still need to be alert!
Life can be like a long drive… after a while we can get bored.
We let things that are important lose their luster and become dull and we fall asleep.
God is telling us to get up and at ‘em! I look around me and I think as Christians, we have been sleeping too long! It’s time for the world to see us live up to what we proclaim we believe! Who knows, you and I may be the inspiration for another Christian to become more solid in their faith!
If all the Christians across the world decided to wake up and stand up for Jesus, what would our world be like? I realize at our age, we are limited to what we may be able to do, but witnessing who our Savior is and what He can do in our lives is not limited to our age!
The word “snooze” is not in God’s vocabulary when it comes to living out our faith!
So, let’s join the Army of God…wake up and live up to what we proclaim as followers of Jesus!