R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Wake Up Sleepy Head

In the months of the year when the mornings are dark before the alarm rings, it is difficult to get my children up. I will go into their rooms and turn on the light and say, "Wake up sleepy head, it's time to rise and shine," plant a kiss on their cheeks and sing "rise and shine and give God the glory, glory..." Then they will pull the covers over their head to avoid me. No matter how loud I am, it is the light that gets them up.

Every year as we head into the winter months, I too, like a bear, want to go into hibernation. For whatever reason, it seems that when the days get dark in the early evening hours all I want to do is sleep. Why is it the more sleep I get, the more tired I am?

In Romans 13, verses 11 and 12, Paul is talking about being spiritually sleepy. It says, "And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

I thought back to when I read about Jesus being in the garden with the disciples just before he was arrested. Jesus, being in the flesh, did not choose to sleep through the dark of the night he was about to face. So often it seems when life gets "dark" our tendency is to sleep through it. Instead, Jesus prayed all night. His closest friends did just the opposite. Rather than stay up and pray with him, he found them sleeping (Luke 22:45). In Luke 22:46, Jesus asked them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

I believe that both of these references to sleep is a spiritual warning to future Believers. In the physical sense, the darker it is the more we want to sleep. When we are sleepy it's much easier for us to conform to the world. Paul's reference about putting aside our deeds of darkness is referring to sin (Romans 13:12-14). In verse 13 of Romans 13, he tells us to behave decently as in the daytime. In Jesus' case, here are the very men whom he had shared life with day in and day out, found them sleeping in his most critical hour.

The darkness of sin is all around us today. Sometimes, like we do at home on our couches, we can get comfortable on the pew of the church and cozy under the blanket of fellowship that we are too sleepy to get up turn on the light when it gets dark. When the lights are on, it's much easier to stay awake. Jesus said in Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

In looking up passages referring to sleep, much of the time sleep is referring to death. We as the Church cannot afford to fall asleep now. There is a world that is sound asleep out there. We do not want to fall asleep like the disciples did when Jesus needed them the most. In Revelation 16:15 Jesus said, "Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” He expects us to rest in Him (Matthew 11:28)

God knew, after the fall of man, that sleep would be something we would always fight. We as the Church need to know that we cannot fall a sleep, spiritually speaking. Ephesians 5:8 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Verse 14 of Ephesians 5 goes on to say, "This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

I want to encourage you today to be careful not to fall asleep. Jesus told us to keep watch because we don't know when He will return (Matthew 24:42). I am sensing we are in a time similar to that night in the garden. We need to be in prayer and alert. Maybe you have been feeling a little sleepy or maybe you have been asleep, spiritually speaking. Turn on the light inside of you and wake up sleepy head, it's time to rise and shine! You won't be able to hit the snooze button and pull the covers over your head when the alarm of the trumpet of His return sounds (Revelation 11:15).

Right Place at the Right Time

 ^"I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time." (Ecclesiastes 9:11, NLT)

I read Ecclesiastes 9 this morning and this verse jumped off the page. I had several verses around it highlighted, but today this is the one the Holy Spirit chose to show me. It resonated with my heart today.

When I read this, the verses that came to mind immediately was Psalm 37:23-24 that says, "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. ²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." This Psalm was written by David, the father of Solomon who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes.

I began to ponder on these two scriptures. Both King David and King Solomon were successful. David was in the right place at the right time when God chose him to be the next King of Israel. Solomon, was the second son born to King David through one of David's most remembered sins, adultery and murder, and of all of David's sons, he was the one chosen to become king after David. He was born in the right place at the right time. What does this say about God? It says that He does work all things together for good...(Romans 8:28).

The scripture doesn't say much about this father/son relationship, but Solomon must have observed his father and his ways. David had a heart after God and didn't focus on his position or wealth. What gives this away is that when God came to Solomon and asked him what he wanted, he asked for wisdom and not riches.

King Solomon ended up with all of it. Not only did he have wisdom, he had wealth. But this verse in Ecclesiastes shows us that he recognized that life is in the hands of God and where you end up truly has to do with how much you are listening to the voice of God. We see that later in King Solomon's life, he stopped listening to God and ended up losing his way.

I don't know where you are today. Maybe you like me are wondering, "how did I get here?" It may not be where you thought you'd be. Or maybe you are living a life more that what you thought you would have. Wherever you find yourself at this moment, lost, it's not to late to invite Him to join you now. On the other hand, if you've allowed God into your journey, then you are where you are "for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14) 

Keep listening for Him to tell you when to take the next step. If you do, you will end up in the right place at the right time.

Enough IS Enough

 

The first photo was taken April 27, 2016, 8 years ago. The second photo is of this same plumeria, today, April 27, 2024. I will explain in a bit the third photo.

In 2017-18, we transplanted our plumeria from the front yard to the backyard, in the corner behind the waterfall. It has grown into an incredibly large tree.

 Yesterday, I commented on a post of someone unrelated to me. She’s not even following me. This morning I was notified that 92 people liked my comment.

I believe the Lord used these two illustrations to confirm the comment that I posted. Our world often says being up front is success. But in the Kingdom of God, more growth happens in the back corners. 

 

 Many times I share the things God is teaching me and maybe I find the “like” button an encouragement because I am a “words of affirmation” person, but I may only have a few people respond. Yesterday I commented on something the Holy Spirit revealed to me and got 92 responses from people I’m not connected to. I realized that maybe what I share isn’t being shared in the right places. The question I need to ask is am I sharing with the right people? Yes, we have seasons of dormancy, like where this plumeria is now. But when it comes into a full bloom, it’s the first thing you notice in the yard, even though it is tucked away in the corner. 

 

The Apostle Paul says “We can be confident that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.” (Philippians 1:6) You don’t have to strive for “more” or “success” because if God is in it, He will grow it. I have often felt that because what God has placed in my hands to do hasn’t become “more” or “successful” by the world and to some degree the Church’s standards, I feel like what I do has no value or validity. 

 

Several months ago when a situation happened that looked as though things were coming to an end and as God always does, came through at the right time. I was asked by a friend what have I learned through all of these lessons in my life. And what came up from the depths of my soul was, "Enought IS Enough!" I don't need to be more, do more, or have more. What God gives us for the day, the week, or even the hour is all that we need. 

 

As I closed the comment yesterday, enough IS enough if you choose to invite God into the process. He is more than enough. When we do, it doesn’t matter if you don’t look successful, God sees you as a success! And that’s really all that matters!

What a Blue Bird Showed Me About God

The other day Jordanne noticed a blue bird on the fountain on our patio. She sent me a video of it drinking the water. As I watched the video, the passage in Luke 12 when Jesus is talking about not worrying about what to eat, drink, or wear because if God takes care of the ravens and the lilies, He will take care of us, came to mind.

I woke up this morning to the sound of unexpected rain. As I lie in my bed all snuggled up and warm, this photo came to mind. Thinking about it and what it spoke to me spiritually. It says so much about God and His Kingdom. It was my fountain on the patio that this beautiful bird discovered to quench his thirst. But the key here is that I didn't fill it up with water. It was water from the rains we had a few day before. God had provided the water that filled this fountain because He knew that this bird would be needing a drink at that very moment. We were blessed by the seeing the blue bird because are not very common around here. It is a reflection of the beauty in God's creation because this bird is beautifully dressed.

 

This speaks a lot to the way God works in our lives. As a follower of Jesus we should be like this fountain, always filled with a fresh rain of God's Holy Spirit, ready to provide for the moment when we encounter one who is thirsty that they may drink from the Living Water that flows from us (John 7:38). 

 

But as I read these words of Jesus, the Holy Spirit showed me this passage from another perspective. Jesus says, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom." (Luke 12:31-32, NLT) I realized that the Kingdom is Jesus! In Luke 17:21, Jesus is having a conversation with the religious leaders and he tells them "the Kingdom of God is in your midst." He was speaking of himself.

 

When we seek the Kingdom of God, in return, God gives us His one and only son (John 3:16), His best, who is Jesus. You see Jesus is the "Bread of Life" and the "Living Water." He says "whoever comes to him will never go hungry and will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). It is Jesus who clothes us in His righteousness so we are seen by God without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and can stand boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 7:25). 

 

You may be in a place where you are feeling fearful, worried, or completely famished in your soul. I pray this post will be to you like the surprise rain we had this morning. It was unexpected, yet it provided water for the plants and animals that depend on God for their needs. It reminded me that it's God's desire to reign in our lives and refresh our souls daily. I encourage you today to seek God's Kingdom, Jesus! You will be pleasantly surprised at how He will provide "everything you need." (Luke 12:32)