Typically, the best day of the week for me is Sunday. Not only do I have the day off from my day job, but I get to spend eight hours with my one year old son, while my wife is at work. The best part of the day is when my son wakes up from his morning nap. I open his bedroom door and he is standing there with a huge smile on his face waiting for me to rush over and pick him up, give him a kiss and play with him. We are always both so happy to see each other!
Last week, he slept an hour longer than he normally does. Instead of me walking in to see a smiling and happy baby, I was confronted with a snoring and limp child who had no intention of waking up anytime soon! The fact that he was sleeping so late made me a little anxious because all I wanted to do was wake him up so I could see his smile, give him a hug and play with him.
As I sat in his room waiting for him to wake up, I was able to spend some time in prayer with the Lord. I had been feeling that my relationship with God had been a little dry lately; that I wasn’t growing or feeling changed when reading my Bible. God used that time to speak to me! As I sat there and watched my son sleeping, I felt like God gave me some insight into His heart for us as His children. God is ALWAYS available to us, waiting for us to wake up and to have us get excited when we see Him approaching. God spoke to my heart and told me to wake up! He reminded me of this verse in Ephesians, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14b (ESV)
That was amazing to me! Wake up, open your eyes, God will meet you, and Christ will shine upon you! In my quiet times before the Lord I realized that I need to wake up and open my eyes. I need to look for Christ, expect Him to be there, and believe the promise of God — that He will shine upon me. Arise, and Christ will shine upon you, too!
Watching the door for Christ to come through,
Austin
Posted in A Word from the Pastor