If your life is full (not busy, as this word gets over-used) you’ll understand the pleasure of a sleep-in on a weekend. So, when I heard a beep…beep…beep waking me up one Saturday at 4:28 am, I felt my weekend indulgence would not occur. As I got up to investigate, I discovered the house alarm system had been triggered.

Then the situation worsened…

My half-asleep brain instantly went to the worst-case scenario, {which often happens when my husband isn’t around). So, I quickly found the alarm remote, and pressed the button to shut the sound off, believing that would be the end of the inconvenience, and I’d be back in my cosy bed sound asleep before I’d counted ten sheep. 

Then the situation worsened…

After pressing the button numerous times, the beeping noise became more agitated, which increased my sensitivity to the situation. Pressing the button again, the alarm kept beeping. Okay, now I needed to call my husband at work.

Then the situation worsened…

‘Press the button on the remote,’ he said calmly down the phone. ‘I have! I am!’ I replied, panic now fully setting in. ‘Just calm down and press it again,’ came his reply. At this point, my daughter had come out of her room. ‘Just calm down mum! And don’t phone dad, FaceTime him!’ My Gen X eyes warned my Gen Z daughter, who was wearing her noise-cancelling headphones, that FaceTime would tax my brain cells too much at the ungodly hour.

Then the situation worsened… 

The light above the word ‘armed’ on the panel lit up and the beeping suddenly sounded like a countdown, quickly becoming an ear-piercing, ground-shaking siren that would have raised the dead. (Well, when I say dead, my son was still in his room) I faintly heard my husband say on the phone over the noise, ‘Just calm down and press the button.’ ‘I AM PRESSING IT! And will everyone stop telling me to calm down!’ I shouted and pressed the button again.

At last, the siren noise stopped. ‘All good?’ came my husband’s response, ‘Now you can go back to sleep.’

Then the situation worsened…

Now wide awake, I felt that the ‘now you can go back to sleep’ comment seemed far worse than the ‘just calm down’ comments in the narrative of this story. See, here’s the funny thing. I don’t know about you, but I find it a little challenging to settle down under a nice warm duvet and drift off into a peaceful slumber when your heart rate feels like a caffeinated high hamster and your ears are still ringing because you feel like you’ve been to a heavy metal concert. 

No? Maybe it’s just me. 

On reflection, I thought about the disciples the night Jesus was betrayed while in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus could hear an alarm going off in His spirit, keeping Him awake. Jesus told His disciples to stay awake while He prayed. However, they kept falling asleep. 

Then the situation worsened… 

Peter James, and John, couldn’t hear the spiritual alarm bells Jesus was hearing. ‘Later, he came back to His three disciples and found them all sound asleep. He awakened Peter and said to him, “Do you lack the strength to stay awake with Me for even just an hour? Keep alert and pray that you’ll be spared from this time of testing. You should have learned by now that your spirit is eager enough, but your humanity is weak.” Matthew 26: 40-41 [TPT]  

Why only wake up Peter? Well, only a few verses before Peter had spoken out against Jesus’ prophesy that he would deny Him. ‘Then Peter spoke up and said, “Even if all the rest lose their faith and fall away, I will still be beside You, Jesus!”Matthew 26:33 [TPT] 

Hmmm…Knowing the situation he ends up in, you’ve got to give Peter full marks for his enthusiasm and boldness, right?!

Then the situation worsened….

Judas arrives with his mob in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is then seized and arrested, and the prophecy of Peter’s denial of never knowing Jesus comes true. 

Then the situation worsened…

Jesus is condemned to death on a cross and buried in a tomb. I can only imagine Peter looking back and reflecting, then cursing himself for falling asleep in the garden of Gethsemane, which led to a chain of events he felt he had no control over because his spirit didn’t wake up to the alarm Jesus had heard in His spirit. 

Jesus had asked His disciples to ‘watch and pray and take care that you are not pulled down during a time of testing.’ Matthew 26:41 [The Voice] This is a warning to us, to attune our spiritual ears to the sound of the alarm. However, don’t become too alarmed by the situations the world offers and start quoting huge chunks from the book of Revelation to others, believing you’ll scare them into God’s Kingdom. In most cases, arguing people into the Kingdom of God only makes matters worse. 

Jesus approached situations gently. He showed compassion and kindness to others. He invited people into His truth with gentleness and self-control.

Yes, as believers we should stay awake and keep our spiritual ears tuned to the trumpet sound, as the apostle Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. And if you feel a pressing urge to quote from the book of Revelation, here’s a verse to help invite others to know God’s peace, joy, and love throughout this Christmas season.

‘And let everyone who hears these words say “Come.” And let those who thirst come. All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life.’ Revelation 22:17 [The Voice]

Wendy xo

I wanted to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you for your ongoing support of thebigvoiceonline.com and the Spacious Room Podcast this year. Praying you will experience a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and blessed New Year xx