
Spiritual Awakening
Day in and Day out, our lives are easily
filled with nonsense. A lot of our time is spent working, watching TV and
trying to unwind from our busy days. Sleep, go to work, relax, sleep, go to
work, relax…our daily life. Unfortunately, this cycle becomes our entire
existence…lasting for years, even decades. Though we like to perk up
things every so often, most of our days are pretty much the same and basically
uneventful. But if our lives seem like mush…what does that mean? Many
of us live with routine and this is the best way to manage our busy schedules.
It is comforting and secure to live in our familiar patterns…we’ve
become set in our ways. But whether or not your life is exciting or not, isn’t
really the issue. It’s really whether or not this type of monotonous
routine is also true for your spiritual life.
Our daily lives mirror who we are inside. If we have a routine life, is that because nothing happens to us? Or is it because we won’t allow anything to happen? And if we keep a distance from any meaningful activity that may affect us…then are we doing the same within our spiritual lives?
For
many of us, living a Christian life is going to church every Sunday, staying
away from certain types of people, living a good clean life and trying to
avoid “sin”.
But is this what it means to be spiritual? To live a life of Christ?
We all know that we could do better in the “spiritual” department,
but we’re not all that bad…are we?
Well…the thing about a spiritual life that never changes is that we
get used to it…and end up NOT wanting to change it …EVER.
One problem is that we don’t want to grow…I take that back…yes we do want to grow…but we just never do. Because in order to grow, we need to actively challenge ourselves. We need to take an honest look at our lives and make some real adjustments. And yea, that means some change in our routine.
We
are in a trance. A comfortable, unending Merry-Go-Round that goes around and
around. We are hypnotized by it and enjoy it. But to REALLY go somewhere…we
need to get off the ride, orient ourselves, and begin to journey to a REAL
PLACE. A Spiritual Place. And by “A Spiritual Place”, I don’t
mean that we need to escape and head towards a mountaintop or a church. I
mean that Spiritual Place in our soul.
A place that the Spirit of God resides. A place where Christ can show us things
and teach us about His kingdom. A place where God’s love can flow.
We need a spiritual awakening. Many of us think we know all about God, all about the Bible, all about living a wholesome Christian life. And we tell ourselves…everything is just fine. But in actuality, many of us are still in a deep sleep. Our minds are preoccupied with our stuff, our dramas, our work, our pettiness, our money…the list is endless. Our minds are filled with everything…but Christ.
Of
course, we will never realize how much we are asleep until we invite the Holy
Spirit to wake us up from our dream, which has been our life. You see, when
the Holy Spirit wakes us up, we can suddenly see what has really been going
on with us. We have to make a decision however, that we will be willing to
let go of everything that we thought has been real for us and behold the Kingdom.
God can try to wake you up…but you can still choose to go back to sleep…where
it’s familiar…where it’s comfortable.
We can choose to ignore the Holy Spirit.
What
are some things that the Spirit would like to show us?
Well for one, that most of our vanities and preoccupations are meaningless…yet
they have taken up decades of our life. That there are people searching for
the true meaning of life who need to meet Jesus Christ, but there is no one
to tell them. And when the Spirit awakens us, we realize that we can do more
for God than just attend church on Sundays. Just as we arise from a physical
sleep and become active…so must we arise from our spiritual sleep and
become active.
God gives us power to start a chain reaction of His love that can radiate
from our hearts to other people.
A power that can transform us and the world. A power that can heal, a power
that can rebuild, a power that can restore.
The
Holy Spirit has so much to say…but we have drowned Him out with the
TV, with our worries, our work…our jaded apathy. Take the first step…
Ask the Lord to awaken you so you can see with clear eyes what this life is
really about and He will be happy to show you something that you may have
forgotten.
That He is ALIVE and ready to help you start your new life.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. - 1 Corinthians 13: 11-12
© 2003 Edrick
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