Awake or Alive

Today I woke up needing a long sleep from my sleep. Who knew that sleeping could be such hard work? I hardly ever have dreams- last night? I had multiple, and they were all bad; had me falling off cliffs and getting kidnapped. Let's just say I didn't exactly wake up very rested, maybe something to do with the fact that my heart rate didn't slow down much? I've been thinking about how this pertains to rest in life. 

I think sometimes when we actually do awake to life, we're not ready, we feel tired, already defeated. We feel like we've spent so much time already fighting the bad guys that we can't possibly get up and continue to do it. So we don't. I'll admit, I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. I made excuses and told myself that I deserved just a little more sleep, which really turned into two hours. But I make far too many excuses in general. And then I make excuses for my excuses. But do I want to wake up each day already defeated? Already drained? Not I.

I mean coffee helps, except today I made coffee, forgot that I made coffee, until I thought again how nice coffee would be...yea. Not exactly my most coherent, non-blonde moment. Coffee only goes so far though. It can make you feel slightly more alive, awake, alert, maybe get you from the bed to the couch. But is it possible that it might still leave you wanting? Wanting some coffee for the soul? I have a life motto: "All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lotta Jesus." I have it written in my kitchen, and now on coasters in my living room. But how is it that so often I settle for a whole lotta coffee and just a little bit of Jesus? And then wonder why I'm tired of it all, defeated, making excuses, and want to give up? Recently I read some words from His sweet word:

"Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." ~Acts 4:13

They recognized them as having been with Jesus. That friends, is how we gain courage, confidence. We need to first be filled up with Jesus, spend time with Jesus, until we smell like Jesus, leak Jesus, start to carry his appearance with us. So before you reach for the coffee, start with Jesus. Help your soul to come alive, find true rest. The enemy is real, there will be days that we have to fight literal bad guys, but we don't have to be defeated. He has already overcome turns out. Let's put up a fight, but don't do it alone. Don't sleep through the battle, don't just settle to stay in your warm comfortable bed. Do we want to be awake or alive? On the days you feel that you can't go on, He's ready to carry you on. Rest in Jesus.