Asleep During The Storm
Asleep in the Storm.
How many people today are asleep in the storm? How many Christians today are asleep in the storm? Waking up is a choice. Some of us choose to stay asleep.
There is a lot you can do in your sleep. You can talk in your sleep. You ever have a conversation with someone who was completely asleep? Which side of the conversation were you on? The awake or the sleeping slide? Do you remember the conversation? Probably not if you were the one sleeping…
66% of us, have talked in our sleep at some point. Almost 20% of us in the last 3 months. It is more common with children than adults but still… I remember when my kids would have “night terrors” we would call them.. they would wake up in a panic and scared, yet they weren’t even awake at all… and I would sit next to them trying to calm them down, and reassure them, until they just fell back asleep again.. they never remembered it in the morning.. they had no clue…
You can walk in your sleep. Not as common as talking.. only 2-4% of adults do this, yearly, but on average, during your lifetime, you have a 30% chance of sleepwalking at least once…
Obviously you can think in your sleep, that is what dreaming is, isn’t it? But with that, the emotional process that your brain goes through at night when you are sleeping, and when it is thinking, can cause you to cry and laugh in your sleep as well…
They say you can respond to verbal instructions in your sleep, you can act out dreams in your sleep, Paul McCartney claims the he came up with the melody for the song yesterday, in his sleep. Elias Howe's dream of being chased by warriors with spears with holes near the tips sparked the idea for the eye-near-the-point needle, a key innovation in the sewing machine… The shape and structure of DNA eluded scientists until 1953, when Dr. James Watson dreamed it…
It is said that those who find themselves sleeping through work, may one day find themselves working through sleep… again, you can do a lot while sleeping…
The point is this… Spiritually speaking, I think we walk and talk in our sleep more than we admit..
As Christians, we need to be awake.. fully awake… wide awake… not sleep walking, sleep talking etc.. not seemingly awake, but vacant.. but actually fully awake and present…
Ephesians 5:14 - …Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
How many times are we told, commanded you could say, in the NT to be on guard, sober, and to stay awake?
Luk 12:35-38 - “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
1Th 5:5-6 - For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
What did Jesus often rebuke his disciples for? Falling Asleep. Jesus told them, “Can’t you even stay awake for one hour?” Your sleeping instead of praying? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak?”
Obviously I am not speaking about physical sleep.. this isn’t about you taking naps or getting a good nights rest.. I am talking spiritually.. are you indifferent to the storms outside, to the truth that those around you are hurling their goods overboard to stay afloat… did you just find a nice comfy spot to settle down in, where you knew that others may not find you, or bother you.. are you just trying to hide out until the storm passes or the Lord comes?
Are you even aware of what is going in the world (or your neighborhood or your state) around you? Are you even aware that others need your ministry, your testimony, the gospel?
If you are not aware of these things, or you are walking around with blinders on, then It is possible that you are asleep, and you are just sleepwalking or sleep talking.. seemingly awake but not really awake at all…
The truth is, when storms arise, and the world itself can see the storms, and they are fighting for their lives in the midst of the storms, and are fearing the worst, and they are praying to their little “g” gods and in panic mode, and they seek you out, only to find you “asleep” as it may be, well, I am not sure how that helps your witness…
Doesn’t mean you are to be reacting or panicking the same as them, even though they may expect you to be, but what it does mean is that you are fully aware of what’s happening and are fully aware of how it affects not only their lives, but truthfully, how it could affect yours as well…
The captain of the ship had to go find Jonah, and Jonah was asleep during the storm.
Jonah could have drowned. Woke up under water with the ship sinking away… He literally was in a life or death situation and oblivious to it.. and understand, running from the will of God had put him in this situation.. but not just him, those with him as well..
Jonah should have been a light in the darkness, but instead he was hiding his light under a basket… or in the inner part if the ship as it may be.. it was all hands on deck and Jonah was down below sleeping…
Spiritually Jonah was asleep. Asleep during a storm. Are you?
Are you awake? Are you aware of the signs and the times? Do you even know that storms are raging outside? Are you even paying attention? Or you hiding or running from Gods will in your life? Are you asleep?
Pro 24:33-34 - A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Spurgeon says that no man is awake unless he has steadfastly determined to serve God, come fair or foul… which means come Sunny days or stormy weather..
What have you determined to do?