Wake Up Call
When you set your alarm for the morning, you intend to sleep soundly through the night so that when you awaken to your alarm, you are rested and ready to tackle a new day. However, you’re awaken by an unusual culprit: whether it be the garbage truck making short work of the dumpster outside your apartment, a neighbor’s dog who is looking to scare a squirrel witless or a strange dream that causes you to wake up in a cold sweat, you find your sleep disrupted by an unexpected wake up call.
Often we find in our lives that God is nowhere to be found. We cannot see Him, we cannot smell Him, we cannot taste Him or feel Him. Yet He is there. We know this because if we’re still for long enough we can feel the effects of Him working and moving in our lives. Jacob wrote, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
I was driving home the other night and it was pretty late. I noticed a U-Haul truck sitting outside the apartment building next to mine. I noticed a man who sat down on the back of the U-Haul truck looking discouraged and exhausted. I could really relate to him having just moved out east to New England from Chicago just six months ago. The whole process of moving is exhausting enough, but almost worse is the discouragement found from moving to a new part of the country where you know almost no one.
He is the Father to those who hate their fathers. He is a dictator to those who refuse to be ruled or surrender. He is a lover to those who have been burned by love. To those who do not believe in the unseen, He is unseen. To those who are blind, He is visible. To those who are wise, He is foolishness. Yet to those who are foolish, He presents Himself as wisdom and understanding. To those who would pray to false gods, He reveals their fabrication. To those who say that He is not there, He is present. For those who spread falsehood and lies, He is truth and honesty. To those who are judgmental, He is merciful and full of grace. To those who shake their fists demanding God give an answer, He is silent and does not respond.
I knew I was going to be late for my train if I didn’t move quicker. I passed a man who had a loudspeaker telling people they were going to hell. Without pause, I kept walking; he was always on the same street. Many city blocks later, two men were trying to hand me a tract asking me if I had Jesus. They weren’t always there. I figured I had probably already missed my train, so I stopped to talk to them. I found out they were from Milwaukee and were down here in Chicago trying do some “outreach.”
She walked in and sat down in her class room. Then the unthinkable happened. A boy she hardly knew burst into her classroom with a gun. He presses it to her head and asks her, “Do you believe in God?” I’m sure the question rang through her ears, as all sounds and thoughts came to a screeching halt jammed up into that moment, she responded, “Yes, I believe in God.” She lost her life for those few words. But there was something that she realized. She knew that when God is on the throne she had no reason to fear the cost or consequence of trusting in Him.
It is so comforting to me to know that our God is not like that. When He makes a promise, He holds to it. When He says that something will happen, buckle your seat belt, because it’s happening. He is reliable. He is faithful. He is true to His word. He never breaks His promise. He is never late. He always delivers. He is on time. He is perfect and never makes a mistake.
There are a number of jokes that have been circulating the internet and are in little gift books. They are always titled something like, “You know you’re _______ if you’ve ever…”, “You know you’re a pastor if…”, or “You know you’re from Chicago if…” or even, “You know you’re a redneck if…” One of my favorites talks about how you can identify where a driver is from.
There are a lot of people who have opinions on who Jesus was. Some say that He is a good teacher, others say that He is a prophet or a profound philosopher. There are those who state that Jesus is God. One way or another Jesus has been the most talked about man who has ever lived. There are more debates on who Jesus really was, more books written revolving around His life than any other man who has ever lived. Jesus Himself stated He was one with the Father and that He is one with God Himself.