Third-shifters find creative ways to stay awake.
Nurses supervising sleeping patients sip coffee—and it's not decaf. Police officers starting their shift at 11pm purchase room-darkening blinds so that they can sleep well in the bright afternoon hours. In college I worked some overnight shifts waxing floors in grocery stores and our crew would turn up the music and turn on the bright lights.
Why such fuss? Because falling asleep on the job means you're not doing your job (unless you test mattresses for a living, sign me up!).
What if nurses and police officers, Amazon Prime shipping personnel and bakers, utility crews and nursing mothers couldn't stay awake? They'd neglect their duties. They'd miss someone in need.
Jesus uses a word that means "stay awake" when he tells his followers to "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). That is Jesus' response to his closest disciples falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, after he urged them to "keep watch with me" (literally: "stay awake with me," Matthew 26:38).
The Bible elsewhere uses the same Greek word, "stay awake," urging believers to be "watchful" in prayer (Colossians 4:2) and firing a warning shot at sleepy believers to "Wake up" (Revelation 3:2)!
Don't sleep through your responsibilities as a follower of Jesus. Don't fall asleep to the needs of people he places in your path. Don't miss out on the blessings and opportunities he has waiting for you.
Whatever it takes, stay awake spiritually. Get your physical rest. Manage emotional fatigue. Eat and exercise in more healthy ways. Do everything you can to develop a body and mind whose spirit doesn't have to fight physical and emotional sluggishness and stress.
Then, engage in habits of the inner, spiritual life that keep you alert, open your eyes in new understanding, energize your soul, and call you to strenuous spiritual activity like prayer and serving others.
Jesus opened his eyes and awoke from death on the third day. God the Father never sleeps or gets tired and nothing escapes his notice. The Holy Spirit is constantly lighting the fires of faith to burn brightly. They're good company.
PRAYER: I get tired, God. Life is so exhausting, sometimes it takes all I have just to make it through another week. My spiritual energy is sapped, I confess, by physical and emotional stress. Help me better understand and appreciate the connection between body, mind and soul in my life. You have created these to be alive and well, awake, active and fully responsive. You allow for periods of rest and recovery in these areas, preparing me for full "on-the-job" alertness that is watchful, expectant and 100% engaged in the opportunities before me each day. Good morning, God! Amen.
FURTHER MEDITATION: Open your Bible (I suggest a printed Bible not a screen; it lays out the entire section before your eyes visually, and keeps you from all those screen distractions; it is also a special way to read that gives your quiet time with God a unique and special place) to Matthew 26:36-46 where Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. How did Jesus feel (v. 37)? Did he express his feelings (v. 38)? Did he ask for help (v. 38)? Did he pray about it (v. 39)? What is your biggest challenge when it comes to staying awake and alert spiritually (v. 41)? What did these physical, spiritual and emotional disciplines allow Jesus to do (vv. 45,46)? When Jesus says, "Rise, let us go!" he is saving and strengthening his sleepy disciples by bringing them into his experience of suffering, death and resurrection. The saving work of Jesus becomes theirs, despite their sleepiness. Because Jesus is fully engaged and active as their Savior. And yours, too. Spend 5 minutes meditating on this.
Daron Lindemann
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