40 Days to Lasting Change Day 4

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 4

Wake Up

And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.”                 Ezekiel 3:10

But here’s what I’ve discovered: the effectiveness of an alarm is in direct correlation to how much you don’t want to hear it. In other words, until your desire to not hear the alarm outweighs your desire to keep sleeping—you’re not going to wake up.  Often, we miss the alarms sounding in our lives because we don’t want to hear them. But chances are that if you’re reading this book and seeking an AHA journey, you have a desire to awaken.  You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you come to your senses. God often sends us warnings and alarms to get our attention.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge. David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

This morning I realize once again that to really live this life we must wake up.  I used to tell my kids that anyone can stay in bed, it doesn’t take any effort to do that, but those who really want to live, get up when they wake up.  God sends alarms into our lives to wake us up so that we can live this life.  Hitting the snooze can be dangerous.  The more often we hit the snooze the more time, talents and treasure we waste, and the more opportunities walk away.

Undoubtedly there were alarms that went off for the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 as he began to slip into failure and sleep away his future.  His father never quits loving and looking him, but the son is no longer living on his father’s farm where he can really know this love.  The son can’t hear the alarms until he awakes to pure disaster and disappointment.  Ignoring the alarms, the son sleeps his way into sorrow but awakening every day his father arises with hope and expectation for each day.  Here’s the deal, we can be awakened by the divine or the demonic.  Heaven awakens us to love but hell awakens us to the laughter of ridicule.   And God doesn’t waste the time, talents, or treasures of life for anyone.

Let’s wake up when the alarms in life go off and live this life.