You Snooze, You Lose

Lately, the Lord has been impressing upon my Spirit the following words from His Word: awake, aware, watchful.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I Peter 5:8

"...be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18

"...be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." I Peter 4:7

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." Hebrews 2:1

When we are in the midst of a trial, we are ready, prepared, with spiritual weapons in hand, because we know that we are in a battle. Our time with the Lord in His Word, in prayer, in worship, and our fellowship with other believers is our lifeline; we know how very much we need Him.

But when life is calm, peaceful, comfortable -- are we still seeking Him with the same urgency? Or do we slowly become complacent, apathetic, unaware, sleepy? The Lord has been teaching me that whether I am in a battle, or enjoying a time of peace, He needs to remain my first priority. I need to always remain alert, clear- minded, self-controlled, paying careful attention, so that I will not inadvertently become easy prey for the enemy.

I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to be blind-sided by the enemy. I need to always remember that I need the Lord desperately EVERY day -- good days, bad days, in between days. I need Him for my every breath. I need to have daily, desperate dependence on God. When I lose that, I am on very shaky ground, and there becomes a very strong possibility that God will allow something difficult in my life to remind me just how much I need Him.

Sisters, join me in keeping Christ of first importance. Let's stay awake, alert, aware, and if we see a brother or sister in Christ snoozing, maybe it's time, with grace, to give them a little wake-up call. And let's be ready to receive and respond well to a wake-up call that we may be in need of.

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate