Wake Up

Wake Up

“Sometimes it’s like I’m playing Game Boy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon.  I’m eating candy sittin’ at a gourmet feast.  I’m wadding in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean.  I know the time has come for me to wake up and see the glory!”  Chorus from “See the Glory,” Steven Curtis Chapman

The illusions from above seem ridiculous.  Who would do that?  But I bet we all can name some people who we’ve known who tell stories of reality that mirrors those lyrics.  Or we’ve seen it ourselves.   And if we’re honest with ourselves, we can look around in our lives and find areas where we are acting the same way.  And what’s infinitely worse, many times this obviousness to reality around us is prevalent in our Christian walks and lives.

I’ve been meditating on the lyrics of another song recently, because it echoes my prayers of late for myself, for our church, and even for the nation and the world.  It’s called “Awakening” by Chris Tomlin.  You can check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljr6lqu2-ec

In this song, the artist cries out, “In our hearts, Lord, in this nation…Awakening.  Holy Spirit we desire awakening.”

What areas of our lives need a wake up call?  Where do we need a little dose of reality… spark of fire… an infusion of passion in our lives? Where in our Christian walks do we need to wake up?  Here are a couple realities to consider.

Reality 1:  The Holy Spirit lives in us.  If you are a Christian – if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the Holy Spirit – God Himself – actually dwells in you every moment of every day.  If you need some reassurance on that fact, check out John 14:16-17, John 7:38-39, John 16:13, Luke 11:13, Ezekiel 36:27, Galatians 3:14, 1John 2:27, Romans 14:17, Romans 8:26-27, 1Cor 2:12, Romans 8:15.

Here’s the thing.  This is a BIG DEAL.  I think most of us walk around most of the time and are oblivious to the reality of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We have the God of the universe – the creator of the heavens, the earth, and our very selves with us at every moment.  He is there as our councilor.  He is there as a mark of our relationship with God.  He is our power to accomplish what God would have us do.  He is our comfort.  He is a source of infinite truth.  And He is our friend.  We are never alone.  Never – not for one moment.

What would we do differently if the reality of the Spirit of God in our lives really breaks through?  How would we live differently?  How would we spend our time differently?  How would our relationships differ?  My prayer… God, show me the truths of your Spirit in me.  Show me the power you wield through me.  Show me the lives you can touch through me.  Show me how my relationship with You can soar to new levels as I wake up and embrace the unbelievable gift of Your Spirit!

Reality 2:  We have 24/7 access to the God Himself. Reality 1 up there has another pretty big up-side.  We can talk to God at any time.  He’s given us an “open-door policy” for all time.  Any time of the day or night.  Talking about problems.  Talking about desires.  Talking about our mood.  Prattling on about this and that.  He’s always listening, He’s never impatient, and He is always ready to hear more.   We don’t have to go through a pastor or a priest – Christ is our intermediary; we go through Him.

So let’s get real now.  Take that reality, and measure it against how often you make use of it.  How much time in an average day do we spend in prayer?  I’m guessing that for most of us, it would seem miniscule in comparison to the other things we spend time on.  We miss the boat.  Most people may pray at most once a day, and then mostly to ask for personal favors from God.

Financial people will tell you that you can tell your priorities by looking at your spending.  If you believe in saving, you’ll see it.  If you believe in giving, you’ll see that too.  Prayer is the same way – if we really believe that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” then we will see that in the time we spend with God in prayer.

How much different would our lives be if we accessed the throne of God like He has created us to do?  How different would our decisions be if we made prayer the default action in any situation – before any other action?  What would happen in our lives and in the lives that we touch every day if we would wake up to the reality that God has given us access to His heart; that He wants for us to express ourselves to Him with love, adoration, and pouring our hearts desire before Him – and that we would then act on that reality and pray?  My prayer… God, wake me up to the inexpressible privilege of knowing You and having access to you through prayer.  Help me to come to you more and more every day.  Make it one of the top priorities in my life.  Help me to see the results – that You move in mighty ways as your people pray.

 

Like I said at the outset, this idea of “waking up” has really been on my heart lately.  God doesn’t want us to just “play church.”  He doesn’t want us to just go through the motions of looking like good Christian people – just doing the minimum to get by in the eyes of the people around us.  Jesus came that we would have life abundant.  That our relationships with God would be more than a religious experience – that it would be a vibrant relationship filled with love and passion.  My prayer – for myself and God’s church – is reflected well by the chorus of the song “Awakening:”  Like the rising sun that shines, from the darkness comes a light;  I hear a voice and this is my awakening!”

 

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