Corona Devo 557

 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. (46) “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”  ~Luke 22:45-46

Get up!  Sometimes we need to tell ourselves this.  Sometimes we need to read God's Word, telling us to do this.  Sometimes we need to "hear" Jesus' voice speaking to us in love and in authority, "Get up."

Stop wallowing.  Stop being "frozen".   

At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep...  ~Luke 22:45

How is Jesus "finding" us?  

Asleep?  Are our eyes closed to all that is occurring around us?  Are we "sleeping through" what Jesus is trying to do within us?  If Jesus is "finding" us asleep, then today is the day to "Wake up!".  (...for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”  ~Ephesians 5:14).

He...returned...only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief.  ~Luke 22:45

The thing is, it's going to happen.  We are human, we have desperate times in our lives, and it is inevitable that at times we will "fall asleep on the job" for Jesus.  The disciples were "exhausted from grief" or "he found them sleeping for sorrow" (KJV).  Have you ever "slept" for that reason?  Buried under the heavy blanket of a sadness in your soul?  Are you under the sleep-walking influence of sorrow or grief today?

It is exhausting.  Our eyes might be open, but our spirit is so brittle that we're just going through the motions of daily life and functioning, and we are in danger of cracking.  

But Jesus returns to us today through His Word, and He comes to us bearing His love and hope and He calls us awake from our grief, sorrow, worry, fear, anxiety today: “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”  ~Luke 22:46

Why are we sleeping?

As mentioned, it might be grief, but it is also just life sometimes.  Our faith can fall asleep because we are tired.  Work, school, kids, marriage, family, relationships, health, extra-curriculars, even church-activities...  All of it day after day and without relent is exhausting.  The disciples collapsed under it and were catching some Z's.  I think we can all relate.

But God's intention is not for us to be buried under a blanket of grief or any other weight that is sucking the life from our spirit.  

He returns for us today.

At last he...returned to the disciples... ~Luke 22:45

He returns for us today, but He returned for us yesterday too: Never forget that He returned for us from the grave!  He returned to give us a hope and a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11) for our lives and for today.  Jesus returned to encourage us along our (at times) exhausting life journey.

And sometimes the temptation is to stay-stuck, or to stay-asleep, exhausted from (the) grief of life (Luke 22:45)

But feel His Word shake us awake today.  Can you feel His nudge in your heart?  It's time to rise up/get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. (Luke 22:46).

If it has been a while since we've felt Jesus, been with Jesus, talked to Jesus or heard from Jesus---today is our day.  At last...He is returning to us, His disciples.

At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples...  (Luke 22:45).

At last...Sometimes we go through dry spells, where Jesus doesn't "feel" present.  Maybe you're in a desert of dry spells.  

Today is the day we can experience His presence anew.  Regardless of how our circumstances have made us feel, He does not leave us alone or to fend for ourselves.  (And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ~Matthew 28:20).

He will return and he has returned.  He is here... At last he stood up again and returned... (Luke 22:45).

With Jesus/in Jesus/and through Jesus, we can stop sleeping and we can “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”  ~Luke 22:46

Get up!

Blessings, 

sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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