Week of April 19, 2010
“Wake up, Deborah, wake up! Wake up, wake up, and sing a song! Arise, Barak! Lead your captives away, son of Abinoam!” ~ Judges 5:12
God suddenly alerted Deborah, a prophet and a judge, to speak a battle command to Barak, God’s chosen military leader that would free Israel from 20 years of captivity and oppression.
God heard the Israelites’ cries. And in His time, His gavel fell. And when it did, it was swift.Just as He did for the Israelites, He can put an end to our suffering by driving a tent peg through the enemy’s head (Judges 4:21). He can revive us and set us anew. He can give us an awakening.
An awakening is a revival or renewal of something. It is the beginning of a new beginning, a spring season in bud. In Deborah and Barak’s case, it was the beginning of a renewed freedom for Israel, a complete turnaround.Awakenings are a call to action that give us a sudden, glorious opportunity to remove the grave clothes, shake off the dust and get it right. They are rooted in God’s infinite mercy and His heart of love for us. And they occur in an instant.
Consider Peter. Acts 12:7 tells us, “Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel tapped him on the side to awaken him and said, ‘Quick! Get up!’ And the chains fell off his wrists.”As in Peter’s case, divine awakenings offer us miraculous opportunity for escape, and they reposition us to fulfill God’s plan. Awakenings awe us and burst open doors of opportunity for us to receive God’s abundance of life. They realign us with God’s righteousness. In divine awakenings, we are quickly relieved of ungodly burdens. We are set free, and we are reminded that God’s yoke is light (Matt. 11:30).
Divine awakenings send our hearts singing out of gratitude and joy, as in the case of Deborah and Barak.While sitting in my office one day, I noticed a bird singing right outside my window. I don’t often hear birds singing this time of year, and when I heard it’s lovely chirp, I immediately sensed a spring season in my spirit.
This occurred a few more times during successive days, which prompted me to pray about what God was telling me. He responded by impressing me with the word, “Awakening.”Are you in need of God’s awesome awakening? His miraculous and “sudden” turnaround? Spend time in His presence seeking His heart, worshipping Him, and cry out to Him. God can reverse your circumstances and reset you on a path of freedom to complete your divine destiny in an instant. Yes, He can awaken you.
