“Good morning, good morning, good morning. It’s time to rise and shine. Good morning, good morning, good morning. I hope you’re feeling fine. Come on, get up, get out of bed. You gotta get up, you sleepy head. The day is dawning just for you and all your dreams are coming true.”
These are the words to a wake-up song that I would often sing to our children when they were young. As they grew older, the wake-up routine became more of an announcement – “Time to get up”. By the time they were in high school, they had their own alarm clock and were encouraged to get up on their own. However, this didn’t always happen and mom’s voice was the backup plan.
As I reflect on our morning routine, I realize there have been numerous changes over the years. Not only has the method changed, so has the attitude of the slumberer. As toddlers, the wake-up song would bring smiles and stretches and hugs. The older the child became, the likelihood of smiles and hugs decreased. The early childhood banter morphed into moans and groans and grumbling. Instead of popping out of bed, they pulled blankets over their heads and ignored the morning announcement. A friendly call to arise would sometimes turn into threats of punishment or warning of an impending bucket of water over their head. One particular morning, a refusal to get up led to a blast form an old bicycle horn for a stubborn teenage boy. Harsh? Maybe. But at least he learned his lesson and seemed to arise more willingly after that. Maybe it was a good step before getting roused by a drill sergeant at basic training.
As I was reading in the Psalms this week, chapter 57:8 caught my attention. It says, “Awake, my soul!” The three words were like the beep-beep-beep of an alarm clock on the page in my Bible. Two things entered my mind. First, sleeping seems to be the opposite of being awake. I evaluated how awake I was. The time of day was early, so I still had bed head and morning breath, but I was up and conscious; maybe not ready to present myself to the public, but alive and attentive. Second, this command—AWAKE—was directed to my soul. In John Ortberg’s study “Soul Keeping”, he describes the soul like this: “Your soul connects your thoughts, your sensations, your emotions, your will, and integrates them into an entire being.” Now, I know that my physical body goes to sleep. And trust me when I tell you that it’s for everyone’s benefit if I get a full 7 or 8 hours of sleep each night, but to consider a sleeping soul was bothersome. In the midst of my physical activity and busyness, has my soul been asleep? When I searched the antonyms for being awake, I was humbled to find words like ignorant, inattentive, unaware, unconscious. Yes, I would have to admit that there are times when all of those words would apply to me and I need to wake up!
In Mark 8:36 Jesus asks the question, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet lose their own soul?” So what is the level of consciousness of your soul? Is it drowsy and lethargic, or alert and attentive. Do you cherish the health of your soul like you do a good night’s sleep or do you hit the snooze on your slumbering soul like you do on your alarm clock? Whatever the current condition of your soul, it is my prayer that you would awake! And whether God would woo you with a pleasant song, an alarm clock that opens your eyes, or a loud blast that makes you jolt out of bed, be thankful that he cares enough to call out to you and not leave you sleeping through another day.
Erin Jacobsma