Last week’s post highlighted the battle for our attention in a frenetic, information-saturated culture. Like the drone of a fan or the roar of a river puts us to sleep physically, the seemingly infinite stream of data coming at us can lull our minds into slumber. I like this quote from the movie Joe vs the Volcano where Patricia says:
“My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake, and they live in a state of constant total amazement.”
When this life is over, we will be stunned to learn of all that was going on around us unbeknownst to us. I don’t mean just behind closed doors. There is a spiritual dimension which, unseen and unobtrusive, most of the world, including most Christians, sail through life barely recognizing or acknowledging.
Who can blame us? Life is busy and work, home, and family demands are great. By the time the weekend rolls around, I’m ready to sleep in! Not to put any of us on a guilt trip, but Jesus would wake up early and find a solitary place to pray. His fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit energized and nourished him with food of which His disciples knew nothing (John 4:32).
Jesus undoubtedly also received revelation and instruction in those times—it was from personal experience He told His disciples the Spirit would guide them into all truth and show them things to come! (John 16:13). And when He was tempted of the devil in the wilderness, it was wide open and apparent to Him what was happening. Jesus was as, or more, awake to the spiritual dimension as He was to the physical!
How about you? Many believers struggle to hear God, and their conversations with Him are lop-sided. Yet the Word says Jesus’s sheep listen to His voice, and He knows them, and they follow Him (John 10:27). If we are awake to His voice, hearing God will be natural to us. (Hint-the biggest way is through His Word!)
And don’t forget that we are also in a battle, with an unseen, devious enemy who seeks to discourage us and take us out, while keeping us oblivious to his activity. If we are tuned in to the spiritual dimension of life, we’ll be aware of the devil’s schemes and deftly sidestep them, just like Jesus did. Peter had been tricked by this enemy before, so he encouraged us to wake up and not make the same mistake:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-9a).
While we need to run a good defense, we are also soldiers on the offense, equipped with supernatural weapons and assigned to destroy the works of the devil (Luke 10:19, 1 John 3:8). God wants to deploy us on special missions, but that means being awake and attentive to the Holy Spirit.
Well put, JB – thanks!