You usually don’t want to see me when I wake up in the morning. It’s not a pretty sight and I’m not a happy camper until I swallow a little coffee, then the world starts to look like a better place.

While we’re on the subject, I’m not crazy about alarm clocks, either. Until recently that is. I purchased one of those coffee makers that turn on automatically at the hour you set it for in the morning.

Often I’m lying there, sleeping happily, mouth open and suddenly this odor wafts into my bedroom. “Come and drink me,” it says. “I’m so delicious. I’m even better than sleep.”

And I stir, “No, just a bit more sleep.” But, this caffeine-loaded aroma cloud tickles my nostrils and scratches behind my ears and slowly I begin to wake up. Getting up is no fun but a good cup of coffee is the reward so it’s a nice trade off.

Did you know that the Lord is going to wake us up one day? And He’s not going to be so tender about it. The New Testament sometimes uses the metaphor of “fallen asleep,” to describe the dead.

Do you hear snoring when you pass a Christian’s grave? He’s just waiting for His wake-up call! (Well, maybe not snoring but you know what I mean).

The Lord has a trumpet loud enough to wake the dead. And if that doesn’t work, He’s going to shout!

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessa. 4:13-18)

While our body sleeps, our spirit is with the Lord. We’re still alive and conscious but our body is not. The Bible describes it as “sleep.” But the spiritual part of who we are is very much awake with God.

“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”(2 Cor. 5:6-9, NIV)

The resurrection will be a wonderful reunion of our alive-in-Christ spirit and our body which comes bursting out of the grave.

Usually, the morning alarm irritates me and I wish for more sack time. But, when I was a kid and really wanted to do something it wasn’t so hard to get up. Daddy used to wake us up on Saturday morning to take us fishing. No problem there.

And when the Lord Jesus comes for us, I’ll be ready to roll. As a matter of fact, I almost think I can smell the heavenly coffee beginning to percolate.

Hmmm …
“Self-pity has the ability to make your worst nightmare come true. It gives false permission to sin; it causes you to hate or quit. To indulge in self-pity is to choose to be a victim in life.” Michael Cheshire in “How To Knock Over A Seven-Eleven”

Smile—
“There is nothing in life more exhilarating than to be shot at with no effect.” Winston Churchill