Staying Awake!

“He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber not sleep.” *

In keeping with Michigan’s “stay at home” policy, I offered to spend a little time with each of our two youngest grandsons over the internet, telling them a short Bible story on Sunday mornings. I thought they might be interested in learning about creatures mentioned in the Bible from A to Z. It would be a new topic to research for me as well.

  On the first Sunday morning, Nate (almost 12) joined Al and me at 9:30 for a lively discussion about ants and bears along with a few other creatures. Not surprisingly, the Bible is full of interesting stories, proverbs and parables about animals beginning with the account of their creation in Genesis.

Starting with ‘ants’ in Proverbs 6:6-8, we thought it curious that those tiny insects were considered to be wise! Why? Because they are always busy, always diligent and on the search for food. “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” (NIV)

After about fifteen minutes, we said a prayer with him and then sent him to bring in his younger brother. When Elliot sat down in front of the computer, he looked drowsy,

a signal to me that the lesson needed to be kept short.

After reading the above verse from Proverbs, Al explained the meaning of sluggard by first describing the slugs that inhabit the Olympic National Park in Washington. They thrive in the rainforests, growing to enormous size and can be seen along soggy trails. “Sluggard” is a seldom used term for a person who is extremely lazy—a real contrast to the picture of an ant colony humming with activity, where every member has a job to do!

While we were talking Elliot’s eyes were growing heavier and heavier and his chin began to sink down to the keyboard.  Before we could get much further, he asked, “Grandma, do you think I could go lie down on the couch?”

“Well,” I answered, “let’s say a prayer, then you can go lie down. Next week we’ll talk about bears in the Bible.” At that rate it was going to take us a long time to go through the whole alphabet!

Watching Elliot fall asleep right before my eyes was a great object lesson. It was as if I could see myself sitting in the Lord’s presence, talking to Him about the needs and requests of people dear to my heart (and His heart too), getting sleepy and then dozing off.  How must He feel? And how strong is my commitment to pray?

Now, there are many times when He has my full attention, such as during a situation that happened a few days later. I was on my way to a doctor’s appointment when Al called to say that the dogs had gotten out of the back yard and had run away. My heart sank.

That’s when I said a “911” prayer, asking the Lord to keep them safe and help us find them quickly. No slumbering or sleeping on my part then! The doctor even agreed to pray for them after I shared how they were missing.

After I arrived home, we were trying to decide on a plan of action when the phone rang. It was the 24 hour “Pet Watch” service we had subscribed to when we adopted TJ and Teddy in 2012. Good news!  Our dogs had been found and were being kept in a neighbor’s backyard.

It wasn’t long before the errant dogs were back home, hot and exhausted but safe. The people who found them had noticed that they had a tag on their collars for the pet watch and called the number. Good to have a service that is available at all hours of the day and night! Good to have a God who is always watching over us, who neither slumbers nor sleeps!

Well, it’s easier to put all of our attention on God in the middle of a crisis, isn’t it? That was another good lesson, reinforcing the truth that God is always with us, listening to our prayers and watching over us. We just need to stay awake!

*Psalm 121:3-4 NIV