Sleep Walking Through Life
“”Awake you who sleep…” Ephesians 5:14
Many Christians are sleep walking through life.
Walking in your sleep is a strange phenomenon. People who do so are walking around and at times even talking but they’re not consciously aware of their physical surroundings. They’re asleep.
The sleep walking Christians do is spiritual in nature. They’re walking around and doing things and talking but they are not consciously aware of their spiritual surroundings. They’re spiritually asleep. This seems to be the reason for the Biblical admonition, “Awake you who sleep” in Ephesians 5:14.
We see in the earth realm with our natural eyes. We see in the spirit realm with spiritual eyes that operate by faith. This is why Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus that “the eyes of their understanding” be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). The Amplified reads, “having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand.” We have spiritual eyes that are capable of seeing...capable of receiving spiritual light which allows us to “know and understand” spiritual truths and spiritual realities.
But when we’re sleep walking spiritually we are left in the dark; left unaware.
God wants to awaken us to spiritual realities.
Part of that reality is being aware of His presence. He’s not way off somewhere and disconnected from us. Christians who are sleep walking are not aware of God’s presence. To them, He seems to be a million miles away.
Another part of that reality is being aware that He is actively working in our lives and in all our circumstances. He wants us to recognize His activity. He wants us to be asking, “Lord, what are You up to? What are you doing in my current situation?” Christians who are sleep walking fail to see God’s hand in their circumstances.
Yet another part of that reality is the awareness of God’s purpose for our lives. When our awareness of His presence increases and our awareness of His activity increases then our awareness of His purpose for us increases. Your Christian life becomes an exciting adventure when you realize you are on assignment from God. You are keenly aware that He is using you to accomplish His purposes!
God is at work to awaken our hearts. In the hymn “There’s Within My Heart a Melody” Luther Bridgers wrote the following words describing what Jesus can do in any sleeping heart.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife, discord filled my heart with pain;
Jesus swept across the broken strings, stirred the slumbering chords again.
Our hearts were meant to be instruments that respond to God’s hand with beautiful music. Sin breaks the strings and fills our hearts with discord and pain. But Jesus comes and sweeps across the broken strings with His love and the chords that have been unresponsive and silent are stirred to once again produce a melody that rises up to God. And the lyrics of that melody are, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know. Fills my heart with longing, keeps me singing as I go.”
Sin is the problem. Jesus is the solution. Therefore, run to Him...pursue Him...for the Bible promises, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
May Jesus touch the slumbering chords of your heart and produce a melody of love and grace and keep you singing His song all the days of your life. Sing children, sing!
Pastor Dan Barker