Be Awake, Be Aware

Summary

Word-Of-The-Day Blog: Be Awake, Be Aware

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(11) And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (12) The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.’ (Romans 13:11-12); ‘<Jesus said to the Pharisees & Sadducees,> “…You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”’ (Matthew 16:3b)  

Is ‘BE PREPARED, BE AWARE, PLAN ACCORDINGLY’ a Biblical Truth?  In today’s Word-of-the-Day, I am highlighting the ‘BE AWARE’ part.  You can’t be prepared or plan accordingly if you don’t know what to prepare for.  We know, for example, we are approaching the peak of hurricane season.  (If you didn’t know this, you do now.)  We are aware of this, so we can then go buy and stockpile necessities we may need to get through ‘just in case’. You are aware as you either know 1 September is coming or you can assume due to the warming weather or longer days these events are approaching.  With God’s wisdom, you then plan what you need to do or procure (get food to stay or a full tank of gas to leave), and so then you can be prepared to deal with these events.  

In Romans, Paul writes to the Christians in Rome that they need to be aware, as we do, of what is around them, in order to be ready and prepared as if Jesus is coming today.  We need to maintain a high level of ‘alert’ and do the things Jesus has commanded us to do for Him prior to His arrival to sweep up His Church.  The issue is it is hard for us to maintain this high level of alert for a long period of time.  We saw this in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Apostles would fall asleep even after Jesus implored them to stay awake and be on alert.  To them, this was just another evening, and they had nothing to indicate the night of Jesus’ arrest that anything would be different this night than previous nights. 

Or did they simply overlook the indicators that were there?  Jesus continually told them this was going to happen; were they paying attention when Judas showed he would be the betrayer, and then he had left before the Last Supper was done?  These and other indicators pointed to Jesus’ arrest and later His crucifixion and resurrection, but up until it happened, it was a surprise to the Apostles.  

Jesus in Matthew 16:3 tells the Pharisees (and by their presence, the Apostles) to be aware of the events around them.  While not every ‘bad’ event is necessarily an indication of ‘impending doom’ or a signal of the coming Rapture, there are enough ‘signs’ to indicate big trouble ahead.  Could it be an indication of the Rapture being imminent?  Perhaps, though it could be another 1,000 years (or it could be in the next hour).  In any case, Jesus, in His own words and through Paul, tells us to ‘BE AWARE’ of what is going on around us. 

It is hard to keep upbeat when the news and societal trends are so negative, but we can combat this fatigue by staying in the Word of God, praying to Jesus for His strength and clarity, and to continue to fellowship with other Christians.  That way, you’ll know to stay awake and be aware of the things you need to be aware of, and the discernment to understand what this means to you.