People call on God for a lot of things.
Often times, I call on Him to wake me up.
I mean literally. I fall asleep without the alarm clock set, and then, although it
is unintentional and I do not realize the spot I have put God in, I have to depend
on God to get me up at the right time.
God has a number of ways to go about the awakening process.
Sometimes it is like a bolt from the blue.
I will be in the middle of a sound sleep, and then just wake right up, for no apparent
reason. I will be awake and eyes wide. This is jarring, like hitting the
brakes when you are going 80 miles an hour and coming to a dead, teeth-gritting stop.
Then I will look at the clock, innocently sitting by my bedside unset, and realize if I
had not be shaken wide awake, I would have been late.
For me anyway, God is not necessarily an equal opportunity awakener.
If there is something I am supposed to be doing for him, a service, church activity a
charitable endeavor, God sets that heavenly alarm clock right on time. If it is a me
thing. A vacation, a social event, a visit with a friend, God let's me know that I
am on my own. L:ike allowing me to wake up a half hour after I was supposed to been
someplace.
I fully comprehend now, there are times I drastically need to set my alarm clock.
Then there are other times, if I do not set it....well you get the picture.
God's one alarm is the wide awakening. The bell also tolls through bathroom calls.
Those sleep-ending ventures down the hallway, stumbling and clawing for the door at
the other end. Then a return to the bed only to look at the clock and discover you
were supposed to be out of your warm nest of sheets, covers and blankets anyway.
Then God has another way of getting me up, especially on days that I am extremely tired,
and hard to awaken as I was yesterday.
I had spent Saturday, with Jan my wife, cutting and grooming the nearly two acre property
on which my church sits. The part of the day we did not spend doing yard work, we
spent shopping. We were hosting our Presiding Elder Rev. Carl D. Ogden Sr. and three
other nearby churches for an afternoon service and I had volunteered to do the cooking for
the pre-service meal.
The shopping was concluded around 1 a.m. Sunday morning. I could not begin cooking
then. I was too tired. The grounds work had drained all I had in me out of me.
Jan and I both lay down. Intending only to rest our bodies for a few minutes before
starting the dinner preparation for the next day.
We both went out like lights. No alarm clocks were set. The only thing between
us and disaster and a KFC church supper was ...God's alarm clock.
This sleep was so sound, I do not even have a clue if I was dreaming about anything.
I was in a deep, dark comforting type of sleep.
I was enjoying every second of its body refreshing comfort when suddenly a cramp started
twisting the bottom of my left leg. Muscles were pulling and pushing and knotting.
Woke me up. But this was not the first time God had used this particular
alarm to shake me awake.
I only was partially awake. I felt a little tired still That probably
made me grumpy. Maybe a little arrogant too. I did not even remember I was not
supposed to be asleep. Did not comprehend I had been asleep for about three hours.
My sleep-deprived state of mind did not remember that I had a sermon yet to complete
and a dinner for 50 yet to cook. Instead all I knew was God was messing with me.
That's right, I sensed it was God messing with me. Not to hurt me, but messing with
me. Messing like a good friend will on occasion. No harm intended. But
in my sleepy daze, I was not comprehending that God never disturbs my sleep unless
it is a necessity.
So stupid me, with most of my senses, and what little good sense I have, still
being in a dream state, I verbally challenged God. Out loud even. I woke Jan
from her sleep. I asked God in a loud voice, "Is this the best you can do, I
can sleep right through this cramp."
Mistake!
The echo of my voice had not stopped shaking around the walls of my bedroom, and my
rapidly descending head had yet to hit the pillow before the muscles in my previously
quiet right leg started gathering, knotting, and contorting in such a way that I was
forced to jump from the bed and start a Holy Dance of sorts in an effort to try to
alleviate the pain of my now two cramping legs.
And when the pain fully awakened me, and I started making sense of the glowing
numbers on my clock, I had to apologize to God for my outburst and start praising
Him, thanking Him for one more time bailing my fat out of the fire, for getting me
up on time. If I had slept even a half hour more, I never would have had enough time
to do what I needed to do to prepare the meal and the sermon.
God does special things when special needs arise.
But I do not wait for one of those special occasions to thank God for awakening me.
Every day when my eyes open on a new day, I thank God for the awakening. The alarm
clock might even have rung, but it was God's touch that woke me up.
It only was God's grace and mercy that opened my eyes. By God's permission I started
another run along the course He has set for me.
Yesterday turned out to be a big success. The fellowship was awesome, the grounds looked
good, and everybody said the food was great! I left the church, tired, drained but
blessed in the Lord. It only was by God's insistent pushing, prodding, and yes
cramping, that everything came to fruition.
God had given me yet another chance to be of service to Him. He did not allow me to
sleep through my blessing. He, being an on-time God, made sure that I was an
on-time minister to glorify Him.
I will try to do better with the alarm clock in the future. But I can not make any
promises. When I get to that can't-go-on state of tiredness when I am running for
the Lord, God just seems to allow me to gently fall off into a refreshing sleep
before I get to set the alarm clock. But God never allows me to fail either and
awakens me on time.
Every day is another opportunity to thank God for awakening you on time. For every
day, He has wound your clock of life, allowing you a new day in the Lord.
When God's alarm clock goes off in your life, feel blessed, and answer its call.
I might not like to be awakened but I give God all the praises for being able to be awake!
Any new day is God's blessing. The old hymn rightly proclaims, "He woke me up
this morning and started me on my way, the Lord is blessing me, right now."
Are you feeling blessed?
