Keeping Alert

As I mentioned in my last blog, it has been a year since our lives dramatically changed. God has definitely been with us, watching over us constantly and carrying us through. But in some ways, we are still waiting for rescue. A year seems both short and long at the same time. It is an effort to stay in the Spirit; God's word says that those who "wait on the Lord, will renew their strength. They will not grow weary." The flesh, however, easily grows tired of waiting.
I stumbled on a good example of this in my bible studies. I am currently reading the Message translation. One year bible on line provides a daily reading of old/new testament, psalms and proverbs. As I was reading about the first Passover when God 'rescued' the Israelites from Egypt the wording struck me. It said,
"At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, God's entire army left Egypt. God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night—a watchnight." Exodus 12:40-42.
My mind instantly flashed from the first Passover to the last one recorded that God was earthly present at...the Lord's Supper. Not coincidentally, it soon followed in my daily reading.
If you recall, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples in the upper room. While they celebrated communion, Jesus prepared them for what was about to happen (his crucifixion). Although it was going to be a difficult circumstance, the end result would be monumental in achieving God's will and advancing his kingdom. It was the rescue they didn't even know they needed; it was the rescue for all of us. They left the dinner and went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.
" Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, "Stay here while I go over there and pray." Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, "This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me."
 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?" When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, "Can't you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."
 He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, "My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I'm ready. Do it your way."When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn't keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time."Matt 26 MSG
It occurred to me that the night the disciples fell asleep was supposed to be the 'watchnight'. It was the Passover; because God watched over them they were supposed to honor him by keeping watch for him. But yet, their flesh was too weak. This spoke to me. I want to persevere with the type of faith that continues to wait for God. I don't want my impatience for rescue to tempt me to take short cuts that will ultimately not lead me to God's will for my life. I don't want comfort to supersede my calling...'like an old dog by the fire'. God has shown me that comfort is not always in our best interest; see my last blog post. To be the kind of follower God calls us to be, we have to stay alert despite our stressful circumstances for what he is preparing to do in our lives. Romans 5 puts it this way:
"We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit." So I continue to wait for rescue in my captivity.
Psalm 130: 5-7:
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
   and in his word I put my hope.
 I wait for the Lord
   more than watchmen wait for the morning,
   more than watchmen wait for the morning.