“Therefore let us not sleep as others do. But let us be alert and sober” (1 Thess. 5:6).
“Woke” is a popular phrase used in our culture to describe someone who is consciously aware and informed of the abundance of injustice that manifests in our fallen world. It is specifically most often used as a hashtag rallying cry to the true evils of racial injustice. Being “woke” encompasses the idea that you are no longer “asleep” but awakened and alerted to a reality of injustice that demands you get up and do something about it.
If you permit my use of the same metaphor, there are spiritual realities to which much of the modern church has not been alerted. Lifeless traditions and a weekly flowery sermonette are not sufficient for the needs of this day. We need, as the apostles warned, to wake up and sober up. Spiritual warfare is not a theory; it is a reality Scripture clearly describes. We do, in fact, have an enemy, one Peter describes as a “devourer” (see 1 Pet. 5:8), who is eager to inflict any kind of injustice on our lives that he can. He will impoverish you, sicken you and terrorize you at every turn until he gets the message that you are not on the menu because you are ready for battle.
Why are you ready? You are ready because you dare to be sober. You are not intoxicated with the wine of the world with all its distractions and despair. You have not been lulled to sleep by teaching that presents your personal happiness and comfort as the motivation to follow Christ. Instead, you choose to dine at the tables of those who serve the meat of the Word. Through it, you are made strong to stand in the evil day. You know how to experience the glory of heavenly places and at the same time joyously receive supernatural grace to endure the suffering of this earthly place.
You are spiritually awake, “woke” in the strongest sense of the word. You are fully dressed and ready for the day. The enemy is truly trembling at your rising. #AWAKEN
To hear more of Kathy’s teaching on this topic, listen to this podcast. {eoa}
Read Kathy Bichsel’s book, The Radical Rising Remnant. Connect with Kathy Bichsel Ministries on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
