Week 12 -Waking Up

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14

How fitting this verse is during this season of my life. Physically, I find myself “waking” several times throughout the night, repositioning, running to the bathroom, eating... What I have found upon waking is that it can be a slight challenge to maneuver from one room to the next. On one hand, there is the disorientation resulting from not being fully awake. However, more prevalent is element of darkness.

Darkness covers and distorts. It keeps one from being able to see direction. I have run into things in the dark. I have to feel around cautiously in the dark, blindly feeling my way from one location to the next. I walk gingerly, attempting to avoid stepping on something (mainly our dog, Selah). Darkness can be dangerous.

But then, there is light…

Just a little light provides vision and sight. For all that darkness hides, a small amount of light is sufficient to uncover. A match, a flashlight, a night light. All of these sources of light, however small, shed just enough light to provide direction. It keeps me from injuring myself, the baby (and Selah). Light reduces danger.

This is true not only in physical aspects, but spiritual as well. Ephesians 5:14 addresses the “fruitless deeds of darkness” mentioned in the previous verse. Simply put, it addresses sin. I have found myself in this cycle of being comfortable in my sin, comfortable in trying to do what I want to do, when and how I want to do it. Comfortable in darkness. Then, I wonder where God is and why He is silent when I seek direction and clarity. I question where He is in times of “darkness.” Where is His light?

His words? “Wake up.” Notice, the waking precedes the shining. The acknowledgement of my sin and my determination to do things my way, the confession of my “fruitless deeds”, my waking up from the death of self-sufficiency and arrogance – these things provide the opportunity for a deeper relationship with Him. Then, I walk in the Light.

May He shine on,

Kim