Note to reader: This is a single part of a multi-sectioned devotional series surrounding the transMission album, “Majestic.”  All of the devotionals will be filed under the category marked “Walking in His ‘Majestic’ Presence.”

My Morning Nemesis

Play track 2 of “Majestic” entitled “Awake.”  You can stream it live here.

It is the thing I dread in the morning.  I often plan its’ destruction.  I imagine its’ demise in many graphic ways.  What weapon will I use?  Will it be Col. Mustard in my bedroom with the lead pipe?  I have grown to loathe it.  I can only imagine a perfect world without its’ existence.  What is my morning nemesis?  What is it that fills me with dread?

It is my…(pause for effect)…my alarm clock.

You know what I am talking about!  Whether it buzzes, clangs, beeps, chirps, or hums a merry tune, I do not want to get out of bed!  I am perfectly happy and content where I am!  Does this machine not understand that the world is cold and cruel, but I am in a safe, warm place?  Why do you think babies cry when they are born?  Going from safety to reality is disturbing.

One of the most insidious of these vile creations is the easy waking alarm clock.  Hammacher Schlemmer peddle this loathsome device under the name, The Peaceful Progression Wake Up Clock.  Here is a quote from the item description:

At 30 minutes before wake-up, the clock’s light begins to glow softly, brightening over the next half-hour. The warmth from the lamp releases faint aromatherapy scents into the air to stimulate the olfactory senses. Fifteen minutes before wake-up, the clock generates your choice of six soft nature sounds, such as ocean surf or songbirds. A beeper sounds at the end of the cycle.

Do you see how sneaky and underhanded this is?

Back to reality…by now, you have heard the opening moments of “Awake.”  You have heard the opening “club” feeling of the synthesizer.  You have heard the bass drum and lower toms enter.  You hear layer after layer of sound being added to the mix.

Slowly, we are building and building towards a climax.  The introductory bars come crashing in to startle us with the power and energy.  We know and feel like we are moving towards something.

Awake, awake! Fling off the night!

For God has sent his glorious light

The truth about our own lives is that we need to “put our evil works away” and “let in the light, all sin expose.”  We need to look inward and see that the “light of life in us must glow.”  Like an alarm clock dispelling quiet and sleep, the “light” of God has come to “conquer death and night.”  We must wake up and move in holiness towards our example, Christ.  I can hear what you are thinking.  Why would I want to wake up?  The real world is cold and painful.  I can get hurt or hurt others.  We have to wake up because there are people around us who are dying, a whole generation of people drowning in “status quo”, “culture”, “apathy”, and whatever else was popular yesterday.  Holiness means to stand clear of those distractions, not to stand away from.  We must be willing to immerse ourselves in people, but not their distractions.

Ephesians 5:13-14 NLT – But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 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.”

So, sing with me:

Awake my soul and sing, awake my soul and sing, awake my soul and sing!

Soli Deo Gloria!