This could also be titled “Sleeps and Grogs.” I’ll explain later. First the serious part.
We are engaged in spiritual warfare and God has designed the appropriate armor. We find that in the sixth chapter of Ephesians. The ‟sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word,” is our best offensive weapon.
In the second part of John Bunyan’s classic work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan introduces a character by the name of Valiant-for-Truth. He’s my favorite, for he is confident that Truth is on his side. His sword never gets blunt, and he never gets weary. Valiant said, ‟I fought till my sword did cleave to my hand.” It’s a beautiful picture of how truth is to be part of us. We do not put it down and pick it up again. Truth grows out of us so that we can fight with courage.
During my battle to maintain a consistent devotional habit, I asked a friend to call me early each morning. That was my true wake-up call. I knew I could not hit the snooze button and return to sleep, for she would call again to check on me. We are all called to wake up and pay attention to our conduct, walking as wise, attentive to the enemy’s schemes, and making the most of our time.
We are not to mimic my son’s friend who went to great lengths to get out of school one day. He got permission from his teacher to go to the principal’s office. His excuse? He had the ‟sleeps and grogs.” This high school boy described to the principal how it works. The sleeps and grogs start at his feet and work their way up the body and finally into his eyes and he can’t keep them open. He just can’t pay attention to his teachers in class. The strange outcome, to me, was that he got to go home that day. See what a little explanation can accomplish.
Someone has said, ‟Time properly conceived is a gift from God.” Let’s use our time wisely, equipped to fight the enemy and defend the Truth.
Ann Coker 