Wake Up!
I received a wake up call one time from God while in Guatemala that I will surely never forget! Thankfully, I listened! Do you always listen to God when He tells you to do something?
I was in northeastern Guatemala in a basic mud hut with a thatched roof. My accommodations included one light bulb hanging down from the ceiling and a ceiling fan to cool me off. The day had come to a close and it was 11pm. I didn’t know this at the time, but apparently at exactly 11pm each day, somebody turns off the generator. I could hear it in the distance shutting down. It suddenly got very dark, but even in the darkness I could see the ceiling fan as it was grinding to a halt. Once it stopped, the heat just settled over me like a big blanket.
I got out of bed, took a little towel and dipped it in the wash basin. I rung out the towel, put it over my head and climbed back into bed. I fell sound asleep. I had just dozed off when the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Wake up! Something is wrong.” Naturally, I woke up quickly but I didn’t move a muscle. I began listening intently in case somebody was trying to come in my window or open the door. I could hear the soothing sounds of crickets and an owl outside, which was reassuring. I could even hear a certain type of lizard that makes an odd sound. All these noises from nature meant nobody was attempting to come in the window or the door.
However, what it did mean is that whatever was the problem was already in the hut with me. I reached over and got my flashlight. My first thought was that there was a huge snake in the rafters and I was about to become dinner. Scanning across the rafters with my flashlight, I could see nothing. I then shined the light from one side of the bed to the other. Again, nothing.
The only other place to look was at the foot of the bed. I placed the flashlight under my chin and I carefully lifted myself up on the bed just in time to see a scorpion climbing over my feet right towards me. I reached over the side of the bed and grabbed the metal cup that I travel with and I poured out the water. I then grabbed one of my sandals and I decided I would simply knock the scorpion into the cup. Sounds simple enough, huh?
I put the flashlight in my mouth, sat up and then I hit the scorpion with my shoe. Have you ever hit a scorpion with your shoe? They don’t do a thing. They just sit there. I hit him a second time and all he did was hunker down and raise his tail. Now that undid me! The third time I swatted him so hard that he rolled over and I was able to push him into the cup. I placed my sandal on top of the cup, set it on the floor and then I climbed back into bed. As I was falling back to sleep I just couldn’t help but be amazed that the Lord went to all that trouble to wake me up in the jungles of Guatemala. Frankly, I was a bit impressed that I had actually listened when God tried to wake me up!
Paul and Silas didn’t have the problem of being obedient to God. When the Lord instructed them to not preach the Word in the province of Asia, they listened. When the Lord said do not enter Bithynia, they obeyed. When the Lord directed them to go to Macedonia, they immediately traveled to that province. Don’t you wish that we listened like that? We should because we are commanded in James 1:22:
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
