Don't Sleep Through the Storm

In what is becoming a rather frustrating pattern, I awoke in the wee hours of the morning. I'm not really sure what time it was, as the alarm clock is on my wife's side of the bed. As I lay there, unable to return to the sleep I so much desired, I began to listen to the sounds of the night.

It was one of those Indian summer nights we get here in the heartland. Not too warm, but certainly no bite in the air either. It was also very still. The windows were open allowing the sounds of the crickets and other nocturnal creatures to float in as they called across the darkness to some unseen cohort.

In a matter of seconds, the sound of chirping was replaced by the sound of a great gust of wind. As the first gust died down it was replaced by a steady and very heavy wind. Soon the rain began to fall, and moved from a sprinkle to the hard pelting of a downpour. Then came the lightning and thunder. For a space of about thirty minutes we were in the middle of a strong thunderstorm. After the storm subsided, the sound of the crickets returned, and I eventually drifted off to sleep.

In the morning I had commented to my wife about the storm. "What storm?" was her only reply. She had slept right through it without any disturbance at all. I envy her.

Sleep is a wonderful thing. It revitalizes us and allows us to perform to our fullest. However, sleeping is only good at the appropriate times. As I thought of Tina sleeping through the storm, my thoughts turned to those who sleep through the rushing mighty wind of the Holy Spirit. We pray for revival, yet so many follow that prayer with sound sleep, never hearing the telltale signs of the first gust of wind, and missing out on the refreshing rain. There is power in a thunderstorm, sometimes enough power to destroy. There is also power in the moving of God, a power that will certainly destroy the unrighteousness within us. We just need to be awake.

Over the past few weeks, I have felt that initial blast of the storm. I will remain awake...will you?