Maneuvers - No. 16
Living Fully
Awake
Have you ever felt like you were just going through the motions, friend? With God, with work, with family tasks, even with your own emotions? Almost like you’re stuck in a dream and don’t have enough control to wake up.
We’ve been there, too.
It’s easy to fall asleep when it comes to life and our relationship with God. But we weren’t made to sleepwalk through life. Our heavenly Father created us to be awake, with him.
Awake, O sleeper,
And rise from the dead
And Christ will shine on you
—Ephesians 5:14, ESV
Do you long for that kind of life that isn’t numb or groggy, but fully awake? Because that’s your right, your inheritance as a child of God.
The question now is… how do we get there? How do we grab hold of that fully awake life? What steps do we need to take to walk in the captivating beauty and adventure that Jesus has planned for us?
That, friend, is exactly what today’s message is about. Holy Spirit is offering us a sweet way forward, past the spiritual numbness and into delightful reality with him.
Come. Will you join us as we listen?
01.
The Message
“You are not numb. Jaded. Unaware. You are not overwhelmed, distracted, distraught. You are filled now. With love. With life. With hope. Can you see it? Feel it? I can help you. It is so simple, really.
“Slow down. Really. Slow down.
“And when you slow, let your mind take in beauty. When you slow, let your heart breathe. Turn down the noise around you. Let story—all that is possible—captivate your imagination. Let knowledge stimulate you. Let your soul crave wisdom. You are created to be awake. Wake up. Wake up. Recognize that you are awake.
“Notice the work I’ve given you to do. Wake up. Feel confident that you can do it.
“Notice the rhythm of doing everything in worship of me. Wake up. Sing not just with your mouth. Let your heart receive, receive, receive.
“Notice the rest I give you, the pace of working hard and slowing down and seeing me in the details. Wake up. Be near me; be with me.
“Notice the lies that are destroyed when you break them in my name. Wake up. Choose to surrender what is false to receive hope and life that sustains.
“Notice the peace within you as you let my rhythm of living unfold in you. Wake up. Begin a new pattern of trusting in me when life is hard. (And I know it is hard.)
“Cry out in the night, and I will hear you. Lay everything down and I will give you new and good things to pick up. Run with me, rest with me, adventure with me, work with me, create with me. My life is inside you. My hope rests within you. My love fills you and equips you. Notice, notice, notice the miracles all around you. Own them. Claim them. Expect more miracles. Expect me to continue doing miracles through and with and for you. I love you. Trust in me. Everything I have is yours.”
02.
Listen
The Lord isn’t intimidated by the emotions we feel (or refuse to feel). This week’s message reveals just how eager he is to come alongside us and open our eyes to what is already our rightful inheritance in Jesus. What desires did today’s message stir up in your heart? Let’s write out our response to the Lord, telling him what we long for in our relationship with him.
03.
Think
“Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!” (Isaiah 26:19a, HCSB).
1. What in your life is causing you to feel numb, overwhelmed, or distracted? If you’re not sure how to pinpoint the cause, take some time to pray and let Holy Spirit reveal it to you.
2. Can you recall the last time you felt truly alive and awake in your relationship with the Lord? How did you feel during that time? What was it like? What did you do with him? Describe it in your journal.
3. What fears or lies are blocking you from waking up? Let’s write those blockages down. Underneath each fear or lie, write down a truth from Scripture that addresses it.
04.
Trust
While you were reading this week’s message, something probably stirred within you. Something that said, “I want this! I want to experience the more that God has for me.”
If that’s what you felt, then let us offer some encouragement: That’s exactly what God longs for you to say to him.
He’s not waiting for us to come up with a 3-step solution or drum up enough emotion to break out of our spiritual drowsiness.
No, he just wants us to long for him and to come to him.
“O God, my God! How I search for you! How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. How I long to find you!” (Psalm 62:1, TLB).
It’s easy to look at this passage and think David is full of the energetic zeal we want in our own lives. But that’s not what he’s saying here. Instead, he describes himself as thirsty, stuck in a wilderness, and weary.
He doesn’t have much energy. But he does want God, and he’s humble enough to tell the Lord that.
Today, let’s refuse to rely on man-made efforts to wake up or open our spiritual eyes. We can come to Jesus, our kind and strong Shepherd, and simply ask him to awaken our hearts.
Right now, let’s choose an attitude of humility, just like David did. If Holy Spirit leads you to kneel, lift your hands, or even lie face down, don’t resist. Let your body assume a position of longing and surrender. And with that attitude, let’s pray:
05.
Pray
Father, I give you my weariness right now. My numbness, my distractions, my overwhelm. They’re not too big for you, and there’s nothing you can’t handle. I’m letting go of the need to control these things in my life, and I’m handing that control over to you.
Lord, where I’ve fallen asleep in life, wake me up! Where I’m dry and numb, revive me and renew my passion for you. I want the more that you alone offer me. I want to see the beauty you’ve created around me, the excitement of every little thing you call me to do with you. Teach me how to walk, fully awake, by your Spirit.
Help me surrender my heart to you, trusting you with every overwhelming situation in my life. You’ve been so good to me, and you always will be. I trust you. I love you. And I’m hungry for more of you. Take me deeper.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
