The planet is in a perpetual winter of sin that has produced a deep state of spiritual hibernation. And early in my faith walk I had joined that group in spiritual slumber. At the time, I looked at the Bible as sacred and important, but it was dead and dormant in terms of being alive in my life on a daily basis.
Like hibernation in the animal world, the Bible describes sinful man as hibernating in a death-like sleep (Ephesians 2:1-9) with a scarcity of food (God’s Word).
Animals hibernate in a series of episodes interrupted by season and circumstances and our spiritual hibernation is similarly punctuated by seasons and events like Christmas, Easter, and when “something good happens.”
What is our water-in-the-face awakening from spiritual hibernation?
Continual replenishment from God’s Word to keep us from falling into spiritual slumber to wash away sin and guilt and regret and anger and…well, you get the idea.
And if we do end up in the hibernation den, we need to interrupt the sleep early and run fast toward God’s light.
The Apostle Paul is clear–the Word of God is alive and never dead and dormant! It was alive in the beginning. It is alive today. And it will be alive forever (Isaiah 40:8). But only if we seek and embrace its safety.
God’s Word is not only alive; it can penetrate the issues in our life that are hidden and hard to locate. Only God’s Word through Jesus and the Holy Spirit can cut through our pain and pride like a knife carving through bone and marrow.
But not if we’re hibernating!
I ask God to implant his Word in me so it is ACTIVE AND ALIVE. That it identifies the issues in my life that are hidden. That it awakens me from my spiritual hibernation.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you in spiritual hibernation?
“The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
