Slumber

Do you ever have those moments where you are so tired that you can’t keep your eyes open?  You may be pushing through a long day, waking up early to start a busy schedule or on one of those extended late-night drives to a far-away destination.  We all have times when sleep calls to us, when the peace of slumber compels us to stop moving.  Moments can draw us back to sleep; our lives can feel like a drudge.

“Days they force you
Back under those covers
Lazy mornings they multiply 

But glory's waiting
Outside your window 

So wake on up from your slumber
Baby, open up your eyes”

What about your life?  Are you awake?  I don’t mean just “not-asleep”.  I mean are your eyes truly open to the beauty around you?

“Slumber” was the first song I heard from NEEDTOBREATHE.  It was an introduction to what is now one of my favorite bands.  The images of how we are sleeping through the world and Word around us, eyes closed; that we have such low expectations for our lives, is a wake up call to a life of blessing waiting for us.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfNKE9aiKmQ

It is not as if we have to accept the zombie-life of just barely getting by.

“All these victims
Stand in line for
The crumbs that fall from the table
Just enough to get by 

All the while
Your invitation 

Wake on up from your slumber
Baby, open up your eyes”

There is One calling to us, inviting us to His table.  A table where we can be fed and never hunger again, drink and no longer thirst.  Jesus did not promise us a life that would be “just OK”.  Yes, He calls us into a life that can be challenging, causing us to question the purpose of the struggle.  Those close to us might be living a life of pain; tragedies seem to abound.  But, there is more, there is better.

“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance.’ “ (John 10:7-10)

We have so much available to us.  We can choose to go about our lives in this wandering through quiet mediocrity, or we can choose more.  Jesus does not promise enough just to get by.  He offers us a life which enjoys the richness of a new life with Him.  He brings to us a life where our eyes are open to all the blessings around us.

“Come on
Sing like we used to
Dance when you want to
Taste of the breakthrough
You’re open wide”

So, are you awake, or are you just getting by?  Drink in the richness and fullness He brings. “Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” (Psalm 57:8).  Wake on up from your slumber.