My girls say their toddlers wake up with engines revving from zero to sixty in one point two seconds. There is no gentle or gradual wakefulness. Once the children are awake, they are immediately all systems go. Like miniature pit crews, their moms and dads and sometimes Lolly or Poppy refuel with three square meals a day and snacks, hoping to ward off the acid hours around midafternoon and dinner time. Kids learn to chill by example. Idle is not a speed on their throttle. It’s burnout from sun up to sun down, interrupted only by the daily (for Ezra and occasional for everyone else) nap time crash.
I remember vaguely having three under four but once in awhile I get to experience it again live and in person. My job is to make the most of the morning quiet so my grown kids can sleep a little longer than usual. My job as a Christ follower is entirely different and it’s only doable in the power of His Spirit. I’m supposed to be aflame twenty-four, seven, three hundred sixty-five, a beacon in the darkness bearing the image of Christ. Either I fan the flame or my light dims. There is no idle gear in this race.
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:6-7 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.1.6-7.ESV
The apostle Paul who wrote these words to young Timothy had quite a resume backing his claim to authority but none of those things carried the weight they once did in his appeal to his son in the faith and to us. He was trained under Gamaliel, becoming a Pharisee among Pharisees. Paul claimed Roman citizenship, so in effect, he enjoyed the best of both worlds in Roman occupied Jerusalem. The power went to his head after the stoning of Stephen. He turned on the apostles and the fledgling church all the misguided wrath one man could muster.
“But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”
Acts 8:3 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/act.8.3.ESV
“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Acts 9:1-2 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/act.9.1-2.ESV
Paul’s testimony of his personal encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus points to immediate surrender and to the futility of fighting against God.
“And Saul said, Who are You, Lord?
And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.
It is dangerous and it will turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and perilous resistance].”
Acts 9:5 AMPC
https://bible.com/bible/8/act.9.5.AMPC
Paul’s reply was simple and gives us the perfect response when our own headiness tempts us to walk outside of God’s designs for us. “Lord, what do you desire me to do?” Paul obeyed immediately. He went where the Lord commanded and he waited. You might say he had no choice but you would be wrong. Obedience is always a choice. Paul’s physical eyes were blinded but his spiritual eyes were just learning how to see. While he waited, another well-informed man had an entirely separate encounter with the living God. He too acted in obedience against all odds and God’s plan since the foundation of the world continued in motion. Neither could have stopped it. That is the beauty of God’s sovereignty.
“But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.””
Acts 9:13-16 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/act.9.13-16.ESV
When the scales fell away from Paul’s eyes, he saw as for the first time his own depravity, his lostness without Christ where before he had only seen self righteousness. In humility, he accepted the high call of God, the great commission of Christ that falls to every disciple this side of heaven.
“Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Mark 16:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.16.15.NIV
“And immediately he (Paul) proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name?
And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.”
Acts 9:20-22 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/act.9.20-22.ESV
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:7-11, 14 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/php.3.7-14.ESV
God’s word is filled with encouragement and commands for keeping the faith and finishing the race marked out for us, a good deal more than can be ingested in one sitting. I would love nothing more than to grocery shop once a month and have on hand everything I need for preparing nutritious meals daily. I have not been able to successfully stock my pantry and my freezer for a week without lack. I cannot satisfactorily find everything I need in one place. As the Israelites tired of manna in the wilderness, so I crave variety in my diet. Jesus knew when He commanded us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” that we would never find sufficiency in ourselves. We must learn to depend on Him daily, moment by moment, for all that we will need. His provision is perfect because His vision and His supply are complete in Himself. So He gives us bite-sized morsels, ready for the taking, three squares a day and snacks, as it were, to slake our hunger and keep us from languishing during acid hours. I am never without His perfect presence and peace!
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.29.13.ESV
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit. …but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, 21-24 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1th.5.19-24.ESV
Not me in my own strength. Not me in a different set of circumstances. Not me. Christ in me.
“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too.
And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.
This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us.
We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.
That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”
Colossians 1:27-29 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/col.1.28.NLT
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
Hebrews 12:1-4, 6 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.12.1-4.ESV
How exhilarating to know that something I might say or do could impact eternity. I am walking in concert with the saints across the ages when I walk according to the Spirit. God is always moving us toward His intended end. I am not naturally a morning person but when my grandchildren are awake, I am moved to wakefulness with them. I know I am serving their parents in love and I would not trade those predawn hours for all the world. On the rare occasion when one of the babies snuggles in next to me and doses off again, I whisper a silent “Thank You, Lord,” and pray over all that comes to mind. I want to see them walking with Jesus so every chance I get, I’ll take those little hands in mine and show them how to sing, skip, and dance in step with His Spirit.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
A Fitting Reply 