Lulled to Lethargy: (Audio)
You’re driving down the road. It’s late. You’ve had a long day. The eyes are starting to droop. What do you do? Coffee? Stop, get out of the car and exercise? Roll the windows down and let the wind hit you in the face?
Or, do the smart thing.
Pull over and rest. Power nap!
Do not take a chance on being a victim or causing others distress.
What does it take to shake us out of our lethargy that stops us from acting properly?
This could be a medical question, or even philosophical, but recently I’ve been wondering what it takes to shake us out of our lethargic state of mind! It appears we are in a slumbering state and perhaps we have all grown too comfortable the with the life we lived.
Our lethargy is preventing us from action. We've grown too comfortable not doing or caring... Click To Tweet
Tragedies will shake us awake, but often too late. As a nation we’ve experienced a tragedy that shook us awake to action, and, reacting, we came out swinging. Mountains were moved! Nothing stood in our way! The victory was in our grasp!
No matter the event…
This is not a call to politics….
That’s not the answer.
Grass roots campaigns are not cutting it.
Being the loudest voice on the block does nothing for the awakening…
Everyone is loud and there is no distinction of voice…
What we need is a voice whispering in our ear… Awake! Awake! Steadily, the voice gets louder and louder. Our lulled state is being shaken awake, and we become aware of the danger of our condition.
What we need is A Great Spiritual Awakening in every household that claims to believe in Christ! The church needs to get out of the position of repose! For too long we have allowed ourselves to be lulled to lethargy. We think all is well enough, when the call from the dark corners of life is, “Help!”
The Apostle Paul called out to the Church of Rome, calling them to “Awake!” Why? It’s High Time! We are nearer than we have ever thought if he thought the church was close to the end those 2,000 years ago!
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:11-12)
This has been bothering me for a few days…
We seem to have grown content with the luke-warm living. We want to play, not pray. We want to party, not fast. We want to be entertained, instead of digging into the Word of God and planting the seeds of our future into fertile minds.
Consider these several points:
Our spiritual maturity is not shining forth. We play with the things of this world and refuse to call out sin for what it is – a destroyer of souls! We dabble with life, things we know nothing about and should probably stay far, far away. We chuckle, “It’s a passing fad! There’s no harm!” But the danger of not being mature enough to recognize it for what it is… Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!
Spiritual disciplines are taught but not caught! When’s the last time you prayed till you knew you had an improved situation, instead of hoping the pastor knows what’s going on and preaches about it? When’s the last time you fasted without there being a “called fast” by the church? When’s the last time you felt overwhelmed with the Word that you simply had to share it with someone?
Let’s go back several thousand years and see that even the disciples of Jesus struggled with staying awake while he was going through his greatest trial. “What, could you not watch with me for one hour?” Then he gave them the greatest warning and scolding of their entire 3 years with him…
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:40-41)
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:40-41) Click To Tweet
Jesus gives them two commands that are equally important today.
- Watch: Essentially, “be vigilant and watchful”. Why? There’s an enemy out there that would love to find you incapable of noticing his approach! Jesus even warns Peter that Satan wanted to “sift” him as wheat… (Luke 22:31-32), essentially, Satan wanted to separate him from his support system! When you become isolated from other believers you are easy prey to the hunter.
- Pray: Too often we simply recite prayer but fail to live up to the call of communicating with our Creator. Prayer is Supplication and Worship. Prayer is not only outward, it is receiving inward. Listening for God’s voice is twice as important as speaking to him!! You know, one mouth, two ears… He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches! (Revelations 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22)
Here’s my Thought: The church is often asleep until the danger arises. The pastor has become the executive of an organization – budgets, building codes, contractors, and all those other things that keep the organization moving like a well-tuned machine.
Somewhere, and somehow, there needs to be a watchman on the wall like Isaiah describes it… “Watchman, what of the night?”(Isaiah 21:11) What is the job of the watchman?
“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. (Ezekiel 33:7 NKJV)
I want to be proactive like Daniel and pray often and be prepared for the danger, instead of like Samson – cold, ill-prepared and powerless when the final contest is on.
Are you awake? Do you have a watchman? Are you listening for the warning call, or have you been lulled to a deep sleep?