A Question Of Commitment

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/yv67a3

It’s a horrible feeling. You can feel it coming on and yet you just can’t seem to stop it. I’m speaking of falling asleep during a lecture or a sermon. Oh, I know that it happens. It may well be an epidemic in some places. You really don’t want to fall asleep, but then before you know it your head becomes very heavy and before your next thought crosses your mind your neck gives way and you have that awful feeling of being suddenly awakened.

Don’t worry. Most preachers I know don’t really notice if there are people sleeping during the worship. Things like that happen when people settle in and become quiet in confined spaces.

I did hear the story of a preacher who once did notice a member who was fast asleep and snoring loudly. He stopped his sermon and asked a member near this man to kindly wake the sleeping man. However, the man replied, “You put him to sleep. You wake him up.”

Fair enough. Sometimes the sermon or lecture may be uninteresting. But sometimes weariness and fatigue play a part as well.

In the final days of Jesus we find Him turning His attention to the disciples. John’s gospel separates the ministries of Jesus into three areas: the public ministry, the private ministry and the passion ministry.

In the final week before the crucifixion Jesus spent His time only with the twelve. The last supper was during this time along with Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. It is also during this time that Judas goes out to betray Jesus and Jesus predicts that Peter will deny Him.

Certainly this was a very busy and very emotionally draining week. Matthew records that Jesus took three of the disciples and went into the garden of Gethsemane to pray. They were all very tired, wearied from their ministry. Notice this reading from Matthew 26:36-41.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Not only did Jesus find them asleep this time, but He came back two other times as well and found them sleeping. They were weary and tired. They loved Jesus and had all just said that they would die for Him. Yet they were unable to stay awake even for an hour.

This becomes a question of commitment in our discipleship of Jesus. The physical weariness of these disciples was temporary, but it interfered with their desire to do as Jesus requested. The spirit was willing. The physical body was weak and let them down.

One hour doesn’t seem like much of a test of discipleship. “Could you not watch with Me one hour?” our Savior asks.

Weariness can cause our commitment to Jesus to suffer. We all sometimes become tired, overwhelmed, outnumbered or have a feeling of hopelessness in a cause.

But we must remember that God has faith that we can be strong, be alert and be faithful. Let us have the strength to focus on what we need to do to remain faithful.

A sudden feeling of sleepiness in church can be cured by getting more sleep the night before or by having a more focused attention during that hour. But far more dangerous than a feeling of slumber is a weariness of spirit that causes us to forget our commitment to serve our Lord.

On Our Daily Walk today, if we have trouble with our commitment to living the Christian life, may we look to God’s word for what we should do. May we never forget that we are human, not perfect, and that God expects us to be faithful to our commitment to Him.

Our thought for the day: “A churchgoer complimented the preacher one day after an especially long sermon. ‘Preacher, that was a very refreshing sermon. It’s the best nap I’ve had in a long time.’”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.