A New Day

A New Day

7/3/15

To each of us who are alive a new day has arrived in which we have woke up from our sleep, got out of our sleeping arrangements and began our routine human patterns to complete another day.  Many of us will face many trials and uncertainty while we are attempting to complete this feat while others will walk through the day without any hang-ups to speak of.  But in order for all of us to get through these days we need to be recharged through a process called rest and what a true rest can bring not only to our physical life but also to our spiritual life.  The world loves to spin our lives with endless tangents so that rest becomes impossible to acquire.  When humans reach this point, it is then that we become vulnerable to the truth about humanity and systematically subjected to defeat.

The human “day” can come in many forms, shapes, and sizes.  The world that we live in does not have set hours that defines a day, for as the “day” goes so does the world turn.  Many businesses and groups work continuously around the clock not taking a break even for national holidays but comply with the current global environment that each of these organizations revolve within.  Global business has redefined the human life and all that it has to offer.  Some will say that is a bad thing and others will say that these working and living conditions actually make the world a better place and the human stronger.  Whatever the opinion of humans, everyone who works in this environment has to be recharged at some point so that they can face another one of their typical “days”.  Whether we like it or not our bodies will eventually send us a shut-off notice if we do not take a bit to rest.

Sleep, how many of us have some sort of sleep deprivation pattern that steals our rest from our bodies.  Most of us do not realize that sleep actually restores our physical bodies so that we can function properly during our “up” hours.  Our sleep patterns define our bodily functions and it always affects our thinking capacity of our minds.  We all know that sleep habits come in various manners and that some of us actually need more sleep than other people.  We also realize that when these sleep patterns are routinely disturbed that we can become ill or invite other physical ailments to invade our bodies, yet we continue to ignore the call to sleep and to rest that our bodies demand.  Since humans live in a global society our sleep patterns come at all hours of the day and can vary in length on the same level.

Without rest, our bodies would reach a point where it could not function properly.  Our minds would not be able to think clearly nor would it be able to make sense about our surroundings.  Our speech would be slurred and our chemical levels within our veins, arteries and organs would not be able to keep up with the second by second demands.  Everything that we knew about survival would be thrown out of proportion until the necessary replenishment was supplied.  Remember in the movies when the doctors tell family members that the patient needs rest?  Well, that is exactly what we need to do and get enough of on a continual basis, or the shutdown process will come quickly, sometimes without warning.

I have known many people who have stated that they do not need too much rest, and to be honest with you the majority of those people are either no longer with us or have serious physical conditions that require constant monitoring.  I have to place myself into that category since I was a prime example of that type of lifestyle back before my heart attack at age 35.  Yes, at age 35.  Now, most of my problems were due to my genetic makeup along with the foods I ate and the lack of rest added into the mix, but I know that if I had lived properly beforehand maybe I could have spared me a little bit of anguish down the road.

I am all for putting in a hard day’s work and to maintain a long and active work life.  I also would agree that people need to take time and dismiss their work day by having some type of relaxation regime that they follow.  But with this fast-paced lifestyle that western society believes it should operate, how is one supposed to do this?  If you would go to the exercise rooms, recreation centers and other places of recreational enjoyment, one would notice that even these places have a set time and energy pattern that is expunged.  This is not a rest or relaxation process, it is just another added activity to have your body exposed to and to keep it from relaxing.  One may eat better doing this type of exercise but where is the resting period and where do you have time to sleep enough to restore your body back to its beginning state?

All of us have started a new day off being tired.  There are a number of reasons that we do not sleep well or sleep restlessly while in bed.  Our minds continue to roll as we lie in bed trying to keep our eyes closed, yet stare at the alarm clock and watch it continue to speed towards the moment when the room’s silence is interrupted by that dreadful noise we refer to as the alarm.  What about when we are ill or have major decisions to make the next day?  All of these circumstances steal from us the one thing we need the most in order to stay healthy, sharp and even employed.  The world throws enough junk at us each day that we need to b limber and “with it” constantly, but have we thought about our spiritual side of our lives and have we thought about how to rest this part of our lives?

The invasion occurs and we do not even know it has begun until a certain point in time where our bodies react to the changes, but then it is too late our enemy has already located our weakness and has begun its mission within.  We have allowed ourselves to become so preoccupied with our daily lives that we have failed to store up our defenses and even though we did not mean to become sick or to hurt our bodies in that manner, it still happened and the impending consequences sure.  Look at how our lives are today and all of the activities that keep us wrapped up without understanding time.  Our actions become blabbering and useless and if anyone cares about the ongoing situation will immediately notice that you are not making any sense.

When does an enemy attack?  Do they attack us when we are at our peak in our defensive positions?  Do they attack the most fortified positions of our walls?  Do they attack us with weapons that they know we are prepared for?  The answer to each of these questions is a resounding no!  Enemies will take a survey of the potential battle field and then make the necessary plans to conquer the enemy on those grounds.  They will take time to find weaknesses in any form in order to gain the upper hand.  Our bodies fall into this category when we do not rest and our immune system weakens slightly and then the viruses and bacteria seize the moment.  These types of attacks also occur on our spiritual bodies and if we are in the physical state above, we are prime targets for our eternal enemy to do even further damage to our lives.

Are we aware that there is a huge difference between resting and sleeping?  And do we understand that while we need sleep for our bodies to function properly and to thrive at its peak and yet when our spirits fall asleep it has the opposite effect in that eternal death is our destination?  I also find it fascinating that both our physical and spiritual conditions are very vocal when these conditions are being portrayed.  It is obvious that a tired person is not very lively, friendly and subjective in their comings and goings.  Even when asked about how they are feeling their physical appearance will give others the truth.

In the days leading up to my heart attack I was feeling ok for the most part.  I would tire out a bit quicker than other times but I basically attributed that to my weight gain and the fact that I could not remember the last time that I walked around the block for exercise.  As I look back on things now I cannot help but remember many more people asking me if I was feeling ok, for no reason.  It was not until after I had my resting period and a month with normal blood flow to my body and a church picture setting did I realize just why people were asking me this question.  When we received the pictures back from the studio I was shocked to see how I looked, even after a month after my heart attack; I still looked terrible and had my off color appearance.  While I was sleeping my body was telling me something else, it needed rest a complete rest away from the strains and trials that continually bombarding it.

I was not living correctly nor was I taking care of my body that I should have been either.  I was totally ignoring all of the warning signs that things were not completely right and that my body was screaming out for me to change my ways and means.  I continued to play the game of invincibility and 100% believed that nothing would or could stop this false fortitude.  When my body said enough it dropped me to my knees and placed me into another category, on all levels.  My thoughts and patterns had to change if I wanted to be around to witness my girls’ graduations, dates and marriages.  It was then, at this time on my knees that I realized that I was just like any other person that was walking on this earth, human and subject to death just like everyone else.

After I allowed the physicians to take care of my heart and to do their best to repair the damage that I had allowed to occur, my recovery could begin and even though I felt better and wanted to speed up this healing process I still had to give my body time to heal properly, and I finally understood this when I had an opportunity to look at the family picture that the church had taken.  As time gained I found out more information concerning my biological makeup which further increased my knowledge about how lucky I was all down through the years by depriving my body of the rest that it needed.  Sleep is one thing but rest is the one ingredient that separates our lives from living and living abundantly.

All of those years I believed that while I was sleeping that my body was getting the proper amount of rest that he needed, but through my snoring and restless tossing and turning each night I was in fact steadily increasing the harm in my life instead of helping it.  My way of living was not working and I was voluntarily draining my life from the living state that God wanted me to be within, and yes this included my spiritual condition as well.  I knew that my spiritual life was not what it was supposed to be and even though I continued to try and ignore this aspect of my life too, God decided to fulfill His mission in my life.

Taking a rest in the spiritual realm is a necessity but it must not be confused with a sleeping spirit; there is a huge difference and I see the difference in our lives today.  It is true that our spirits need rest and there is no better scripture that describes this truth as Psalms Chapter 23.  This chapter is a beautiful example of a spirit at rest and not asleep.  There is nothing wrong with a spirit that is resting, because it regenerates it and renews the communication link that we need in order to continue receiving truth from our Creator.

It is, however, the job of our enemy to put our spirits asleep and to try his best to fool us into a spiritual sleep instead of a restful period in God.  A spirit that is asleep will miss vital communication signals from God, ones that are designed to provide us with life saving information, both on the physical and spiritual levels.  Satan will deceive us in many ways in order for our ears and our spiritual “minds” to click off into a lull and then into a deep sleep.  I am not referring to the deep sleep that God placed Adam and Abram into, but a spiritual sleep that our enemy offers after many long battles.  A time for restoration turns into a stagnate pond in a prone position which will only lead to sleep.  Our spirits are continually being bombarded with attacks that eventually take its toll as well.  Spiritual attacks follow the same patterns as our physical encounters of our “day”.  However, with the spiritual attacks these continual assaults do not stop they are in motion with relentless intensity that does not stop.  Remember on a spiritual basis, spirit knows no time so its range of attacks and methods of attacks can be brutal and limitless.

Many good people do not even know that they are spiritually asleep and thus vulnerable to the tricks of the enemy.  They are so blind that they buy into the lie that human rights are actually warranted and fail to see that they actually allow humans to enter into a deadly slave state with a controlling entity that will eventually come to collect from those who he has given earthly gifts.  It is vitally important that we understand the difference between a restful spirit and a sleeping spirit.  A restful spirit will be re-energized and ready for a new day so that it can push back the kingdom of darkness with vigor and stamina through the Word of God.  A restful spirit recognizes its enemy and the mission of that enemy and does everything in its power, through the commands of her Leader, to rescue people from an eternal separation and certain eternal death from life itself.  A restful spirit will wreak havoc on the kingdom of this world, guaranteed and with no questions asked.

A sleeping spirit will wake up long enough to recognize its immediate surroundings and demand that things change without any work or major movement required.  It will lay there and be fed by the first opportunity that comes along and will be assured that it does not have to get up and move, but can be just as effective by going back to sleep and hoping to feel better a few “hours” later.  It is in this state that the enemy uses these “gifts” in order to keep us from fulfilling our mission and while we lay in spiritual slumber he can run amuck all around our lives and in our surroundings without even fighting one bit.  A sleeping spirit will accept things that feel good and that do not require much energy expended in order to make its presence felt.  But in reality what does this accomplish?  Only earthly and selfish goals with egotistical wants places focus on us and on the physical instead of fighting the holder of the marionette.  Taking swings at the marionette is the accomplishment that our enemy established in the Garden of Eden and our blindness to such continues today.

It is a no brainer that our bodies need rest and sleep because without these we would cease to function quite quickly and we cannot afford to keep this type of belief when it comes to our spiritual lives.  Spiritual life and spiritual communication with God is the only way that we humans have a chance in this world.  The battle has been set long before you and I arrived on this planet and it will continue until God ends the fighting.  Resting our spirits actually resets our spiritual security system as physical rest resets our immune system and natural defenses, which explains another reason why God says for us to rest in Him.

The world also teaches us that we need to be constantly on the move and making decisions in a split second.  How can we effectively accomplish this if we do not get our rest?  It is impossible for us to make continual and rational decisions if we are constantly draining our energy sources and there will come a time that things will catch up with us.  We see this every day around our world with people who enter into the emergency rooms sick with some type of ailment.  When you hear what they have been doing and then ask them about their sleep patterns, it is very clear what they were setting up for themselves.  The same principals apply in the spirit realm and it conditions that we place it in. We can have a great communication system with God but if we do not listen to Him saying to rest, then our spirits become subject to deeper attacks.

All of us wake up each morning to a new day and face many challenges.  These challenges are a part of life and it is imperative that we do everything possible to prepare ourselves for this combat.  The physical realm and the spiritual realm fit into this category and neither area should be taken lightly.  Attacks will come at any given moment and by the grace of God and our obedience, we have the authority to overcome these attacks on all levels.  Yes, we will not fend off every attack, but with our rested bodies and spirits our defense system will be in better shape to fight off what has been thrown at us.  If we continue to plug our spiritual resting periods into God’s presence it will only cause a dimming of the mystery that surrounds our Creator and will bring us closer into relationship with Him and not the world.

DLB