Awakening
Waking up is much different than awakening. Awakening (def) -the act of waking up from sleep, or, more broadly, a sudden or gradual coming into awareness, consciousness, or renewed interest in something. Waking (def) - Waking generally refers to being conscious, alert, or active rather than asleep, or the act and time period of emerging from sleep.
To the point, we can be totally awake and still be sleeping! I believe that in our world, we have been lulled into believing we are awake, but we are awake without consequence. We see what needs to happen, but we can see and not respond. The lethargy in the church today continues, and we know what needs to happen, but we are not roused from our slumber, so it continues on, and it soon becomes an afterthought.
The Holy Spirit is faithful to convict us of this lethargy, and we awaken with a renewed heart and mind that is directed toward our heavenly Father. Paul wrote the following words to the church in Philippi in Philippians 4:6: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
When we dialogue with God, He will show us where we need to awaken, and that is the beginning of a deep conviction for growth and action. This usually begins when we immerse ourselves in God's Word and the Holy Spirit brings everything into focus. We long for God to move in our lives, and the burning desire is to serve God and step forward in our commitment as a called person. We are awakened!!! What seemed to slip through in our thinking no longer makes it through this new filter that God has put in our reasoning. We are awakened, and movement toward God's will is our next move, led by God.
Our thoughts are fixed on Jesus, and Jesus brings us to a point of understanding that God wants, and in that understanding our thoughts move toward whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, and lovely. The writer of Hebrews described this action in Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
When we awaken, our eyes will be fully locked in on Jesus, and He will guide us through every obstacle we face in our pilgrimage. Other believers will be sent by God to encourage you in your faith, and that faith will grow as never before because you have awakened to the truth, and you will never be the same. So, awaken, and the church will also awaken as your light shines brightly to lead others to awakening, and before long victory will be seen and understood in the fellowship of believers.
The Pilgrimage Continues,
David Warren
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