Acts 12:11
“And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety,
that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the
hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”
Have you ever had one of those moments in your life when it was like somebody turned the light on and for the first time you clearly saw what was so obvious? If you have ever had one of those moments, it was as if you woke up to see the reality that many others had already seen. Life and our own agenda can sometimes blind us from what we need to see. According to scriptural illustrations, there are three times when you need to wake up.
First, wake up and see the power of God. In the verse above, Peter had been cast into prison for preaching the Gospel of Christ. The church called a prayer meeting to ask God to deliver him from the hands of those who wanted him killed. In an answer to the church’s prayer, God sent and angel in the middle of the night to take Peter by the hand to walk him out of prison. The verse above says this about Peter when he came to the outside of the prison, “And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me…”
Are you like Peter, living in denial of the power of God? I’m afraid too many times that our lack of faith denies us from seeing what is so obvious about the LORD working. My friend, don’t be the type of Christian who denies the power of God by saying, “We will see how long this lasts.” Instead of being negative about what the LORD is doing, enjoy being a part of seeing His handiwork. If God is working through your life or is allowing you to see His power at work, you should realize the privilege of that moment and enjoy it.
Second, wake up and see how good you have it. Sadly, the prodigal son had to lose everything before he looked back to see how good he had it back at his father’s house. Covetousness and worldliness will blind you from seeing God’s goodness in your life. Don’t be the type of Christian who thinks you are missing out because of the structure and rules that have been set up to help you enjoy life. If you will stop long enough to look at all you have, you will realize God has been very good to you. Humans are so apt to be like Eve in the Garden of Eden complaining about not having the one tree when you have a world of trees to enjoy. Don’t let the Devil blind you from seeing everything you have by looking at the one thing you don’t have. If you are satisfied with what the LORD has given you, you won’t be bothered about the one thing He keeps from you.
Third, wake up before it is too late. Judas Iscariot woke up to Who’s presence he was in, but it was only after he was condemned. Dear friend, don’t let sin drive you to the point of judgment before you wake up. Wake up and get right with the LORD before judgment comes. The best time to confess your sins and get right with the LORD is right now. You can wait too long and think you still have till tomorrow to get right only to walk into the judgment of God today. Don’t let that be your plight. Wake up and take care of your sin today.
Do you find yourself blinded in any of these three areas? Let me encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to spiritually slap you to wake you up if you are guilty of being asleep in any of these areas. Always remember that you will regret the time you were asleep when you wake up because it is wasted time.