Preface: It is another....'beautiful'....Saturday morning....but it is a battlefield. Figuratively speaking....with pure allegory.....swords are flashing in the sunlight....angels are fighting....saints are struggling....barely able to open their eyes let alone raise their shield. God's Word shouts at them...."How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?" 'Surely you can see that I am not sleeping'....we reply. 'I've already loaded the SUV....including all the bicycles....and fed the kids....and walked the dog....and it is not yet 10 AM?' But O yes you are asleep! Your very soul is in danger....demons have been unleashed all over this earth....be careful on your drive to your picnic that road rage does not enter your life in these violent times. The very children that you are devoting this day to entertaining them are on the precipice....attacked with every temptation imaginable. The sky above may be blue but look with your spritual eyes off on the horizon....as a darkness such as you have never seen before is slowly coming closer. Go on your picnic....your bike ride....sail on the lake....but sing praises while on your way....recite promises as you take in the beauty of God's earth....remind your children of God's calling on us....every bit as much as you would remind them to stay in the bike lane! Take the 'old paths' that are safer. Take nothing for granted....except that God will direct your steps....if you continue to abide in Him. Be vigilant for rocks or holes on the path....and poison plants off to the side....and bees and wasps and snakes. Picture that small sailboat as your life....and pray as did the Puritan in that old prayer...."Grant that Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely; allow no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course, let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals; bring me to harbor with flying pennants, hull unbreached, cargo unspoiled." And as this day concludes....thank God for His hand upon you....and implore of Him....tug on His cloak....shout over the objections of those around Him....that His Spirit would embolden the men in tomorrow's pulpits....that His glory would return to our sanctuaries....and that we would be wide-awake....with ears to hear....what message they give us from you!
This post....the title of which is above....is only two weeks old:
"It was a dark and stormy night...." Charles M. Schulz didn't invent that phrase associated with mystery novels....but Snoopy made it an often used cliche. The meaning of course is that....if it's a dark and stormy night....then danger is in the air.....but I want to challenge that in this post. Oh yes....a dark and stormy night is conducive to mayhem....but I will tell you something more dangerous....a gorgeous 72 degree day....sunny with a pleasant breeze....and different floral aromas around every turn.
We all know to be vigilant of roaring lions....but our defenses seem always to be down when it comes to becoming drowsy. Dorothy fell asleep in the poppy fields laid by the Wicked Witch....but that was no more than a fairy tale.....whereas John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress....is as real as the pages it was written on. In it Christian becomes weary going up the Hill of Difficulty....and God provided an arbor for Christian to rest....but not fall sound asleep at....which Pilgrim did....only to be awakened by a voice saying...."Go to the ant, thou sluggard".....for we have souls to pray for....balm to distribute....and the evangel to offer....just as it was offered to us!
This isn't new to me....for I have fallen alseep many times on beautiful days like I described above. I know the danger.....and as I walk among the proverbial poppies....I tell myself to be careful not to fall asleep.....not to let the blue sky....with passing snowy white clouds....and deep green trees placed there as a perfect contrast...nor the floral aromas....cause me to become drowsy.....not in a physical sense where I need to lay down.....but a spiritual sense....where I forget about that lion.
Today was such a day for me....perfect weather....not too hot.....a local craft show with which to explore....and friends here and there to exchange pleasantries with....and as I walked in this idyllic scene....I reminded myself every time that the comfortable setting became too strong.....that this world is full of violence....with pain enough to cause multitudes to call out to God in anguish....and tears enough to cover the mountains as in Noah's Flood....and lions everywhere.....roaring.....and chained.....but if one became drowsy he might walk right up to that lion.
So it would not be unusual.....as a matter of fact I hear it quite often.....the Christian giving God the glory for such a beautiful day....but that day is only given as a temporary rest....as a shaded bench at a park craft show might be....not a hammock to fall asleep in....only to be awakened by a thurderbolt splitting the tree that was chosen for shade.
Note: That Puritan prayer from the preface is from a wonderful book edited by Arthur Bennett....and published by Banner Of Truth....The Valley Of Vision....the title given the prayer....The Voyage.
