Awake & Sober
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
I’m one of those people who loves doing Bible studies. I enjoy completing the homework and always opt for the longer in-depth studies because I love studying the Bible. I actually enjoy diving into the original Hebrew and Greek text and trying to discern the author’s original meaning. But our enemy is always one step ahead, trying to figure out what might trip me up next. You see, an unexpected problem with my love for Bible studies is that there are so many to choose from. Way too many.
As you can probably guess, human nature is never satisfied with more. So my preference for more began to drive me crazy. I began to obsess over completing my Bible study queue. I was more interested in collecting a stack of completed studies than I was in applying the Word of God in action. After awhile, I became overwhelmed and beat myself up when I could not finish a study according to my timeline. I was walking around with a storm cloud over my head. In my mind, I heard accusations telling me I had failed and I was lazy. I even felt shame, like I was a bad Christian.
Isn’t it interesting how anything, even God’s Word, is targeted by the enemy in order to trip us up? The enemy’s goal is to lull us into a false sense of security and trick us into thinking we can switch on autopilot and coast our way to salvation. How can we avoid falling into the trap?
One of the most famous Bible stories is the one about David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11-12. We know that David is described as “a man after God’s own heart,” and that the long awaited Messiah comes from his royal lineage. And yet, David was not immune to becoming spiritually lazy.
Instead of going off to war as usual, David decided to give himself a break (2 Samuel 11:1). Surely he deserved a little leisure after defeating the Ammonites and securing peace for Israel. Things were going well and he probably just wanted a chance to enjoy the fruits of his labor. However, this was also a chance for David to let his guard down. As a result, he ended up following his own desires without regard to the Lord’s will for his life.
Sometimes we can be so concerned with our own desires that we compromise our quiet times, our church attendance, and even our obedience to God, until those compromises grow into something large and out of control. Even starting with the best intentions, we are in constant danger of falling into the trap of complacency if we do not stay awake.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
Reflection
Read Matthew 25:1-13
Spend some time in prayer, asking God to reveal to you where in your life you could potentially drift off to a “spiritual sleep” (Colossians 4:2)
Choose to commit these verses to memory: Revelation 16:15 and Proverbs 3:21
How will you respond to the truth on your heart this week?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Molly writes from her home in Ojai, CA where she also works full time as wife to Marco, mama to Lydia, and account specialist for a software company. She loves rain, early morning runs, and long road trips. Her happy place is a certain table at a local coffee shop with a pen, an empty notebook, and a few hours (and probably a few lattes!). Her writings can be found over at mollylgonzalez.com.