"Wake up call"

Just as the alarm clock chimes in a new day, the "wake-up call" gives announcement to get up and get moving. In the trudge of life we often find ourselves needing a wake-up call back to what God wants us to do. It seems that as we work our way through the web of constant distraction that is life, sometimes our purpose in life becomes lost. God has called us into a relationship defined by love (Matthew 22:37-40) for Him and for our neighbor. The harsh reality is that life does not just happen to you and me. It happens to our neighbor down the street that may have some idea of God, but he/she chooses to think of themselves as simply spiritual. We, as Christians fall into the trap of thinking that we are the only people under spiritual attack. Often we think that Satan has singled us out and is "focus-firing" on our lives with the intent to destroy us. Make no mistake, Satan wants to destroy us, but I believe he uses self-centeredness and apathy as well. All to often we fail to see the larger picture, for instance the same snapshot that brings a beautiful child into our lives by adoption, also reveals a picture of pain and heartache in a decision to give up that same child. The wake-up call is not only a bell chiming in a new day, but it is an alarm that says something big is about to happen. "The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 'Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms, I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.' On that day, declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the Lord Almighty." (Haggai 2:20-23; NIV) As our lives reflect on the blessings that come from God, let us also be mindful that what can be a blessing to us can also be a heartache to our neighbor. That same neighbor will need you, during your rejoicing, to step out of your self-centeredness and love them with all that you have. Is God sending you a wake-up call today?

Blessings,

Nate