Are You Sleeping, Are You Sleeping?

When I was a child we would sing a nursery rhyme that went like this;

Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping, 

Brother John? Brother John?

Morning bells are ringing, Morning bells are ringing.

Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

It is a French children’s song called Frère Jacques. Some of you may remember its tune, okay……….. I’m sorry, now it will be stuck in your memory and you’ll be humming it all day.

Well, in this nursery rhyme the question is posed, “Are you sleeping? With the intent of making it known it was morning and time to wake up. Natural sleep is necessary if we want to keep our bodies and souls refreshed and healthy, but spiritual sleeping is a no, no. Natural sleep helps the body to rest and recuperate from a hard day’s work of efficiently keeping all its systems functioning properly while you eat, work and play all day. It is good wisdom to give your body proper rest and not to run it down and abuse it. On the other hand a person can sleep too much; becoming lazy and slothful, thus jeopardizing their destiny and future, of course this kind of lifestyle is unacceptable and detrimental for any Christian life. “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger (Proverbs 19:15).

Sleep defined:
A state of partial or full unconsciousness in people and animals, during which voluntary functions are suspended and the body rests and restores itself, or a period spent in this state.

When someone is sleeping they are somewhat vulnerable because they become unaware of their surroundings and totally oblivious to any threat of danger that maybe lurking about.
In the book of Thessalonians the writer warned Christians about spiritual sleeping.

For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness. Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect). For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corslet) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ's appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life (1Thessalonians 5:5-10 (AMP).

It is imperative that we remain spiritually alert and watchful in the day and hour that we live. We must maintain spiritual insight and be keen in our discernment so that we will not fall prey to our enemy’s devices and strategies to try to defeat us. We must guard ourselves against the temptation to take a spiritual nap or drift away into daydreaming when we should be wide awake and focused. In a natural war, nodding off when you are on guard duty can get your head cut right off. Your lack of perception and insight can cost you and others their lives.

Spiritual drowsiness is a sign of weakness. It is a breech in commitment and responsibility and must be dealt with if the soldier is to remain in active combat. In the natural when people over indulge in carbohydrates they become very sluggish and sleepy rendering them virtually physically useless. In like manner with your spirit, if you are taking in loads of cares and worries you become weighed down, spiritually sluggish and sleepy, which renders you useless in a battle. So get detoxified of all those spiritual carbs and get active and be sober so that you can be useful to the Master. Stay spiritually alert!

Are YOU sleeping, Are YOU sleeping, Brother/Sister _______________?

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