We all know what it’s like to dose off at inopportune—even dangerous—times. The movie isn’t done yet. The professor is mid-lecture. There’s an hour left in the drive and you’re behind the wheel.
What do we do when we hear that urgent, insistent voice hiss, “Stay awake?” We reach for a cup of coffee, pinch ourselves, splash cold water across our face. Just a little while longer, we tell ourselves. And then we can rest.
Is this how Jesus is suggesting we live each day of our lives? Are we to run ourselves ragged, never allowing ourselves a moment of rest, surrendering instead to a constant state of anxiety-riddled readiness?
I don’t think so. I don’t think Jesus wants us to drink the spiritual equivalent of five cups of coffee and relish ballooning bags under our eyes. Rather, I think Jesus wants us to cultivate a disposition that relies not on brittle nerves but on genuine availability to the Spirit’s surprises. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians gives us a hint: We are to live in constant thanksgiving for the joy God’s presence evokes in our lives. Night and day, Paul insists, we offer prayers of gratitude for God’s faithfulness, even in moments of hardship.
We all eventually succumb to sleep. But if we open and close our eyes with words of thanksgiving on our lips, then we will keep our hearts in constant readiness for Christ—in this breath, and in our last.
