24-3, Blocking Out those Alarms

Several weeks ago I was awakened around two a.m. by an ear-piercing sound that I assumed was a smoke alarm.

I keep the house cool, and there I was in my boxers, all cozy under the blanket with little interest in getting up and going out to the garage for a ladder and then down to the basement for a battery to silence the stupid thing. (Why do they always go off at night, anyway?) So, I decided to see if I could mentally and emotionally block it out and go back to sleep.

Well, I did – awakening a time or two for night duties and then right back to sleep in spite of the alarm. I finally yielded to its demands after the sun was up, but when I got up close to the smoke detector right outside my bedroom door, it wasn’t the culprit. I checked the others (you probably know the drill) but couldn’t find it. I finally figured out that it was the low-battery alarm on my carbon monoxide thingy, and replaced it.

Now here’s the thing. That gadget is at the foot of my bed, only 10’ from my ear, and it is LOUD, yet I was able to block it out and go back to sleep.

What alarms in our nation and world, including natural events, are we blocking out so we can continue in our peaceful slumber as we indulge in the waning opportunities of the American Dream while hiding under the illusion that we deserve God’s protection from the consequences of our sin? Church, what on earth are we thinking!?

I dare you to sit with some friends and list the blaring alarms in our nation and world, and then talk and pray about how God would have you respond. What does (did) Jesus say?

“Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” Jesus Matthew 13:14-15 ESV

“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.” Jesus, John 8:43 ESV

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11 ESV

Ken Stoltzfus
Kidron, Ohio USA
May 2, 2024

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