"The Awakening"

"O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure." (Psalms 6:1) There comes a time, when we as mere mortal man, discover how inept that we are to deal with certain issues of our hearts, let alone, that of the spirit world! These times are known as Times of Awakenings; whereas, we come to terms with what it is that God expects, and how far that we actually have fallen short of those expectations, or in our performance to be what is expected of us. To put this in a way that is easily understood: let's say that you are a stock car racer, and you have perfected your car's performance abilities, and have mastered that of your own driving abilities; however, the day that you show up for the race, it turns out that it is a formula one race, and you are awakened! And there is not a snowballs chance in you know where, that you are going to win that race! This is what happens when we think that we have the power over a spiritual battle, and when we try to handle that battle in our flesh; it's not going to happen; and if we think that it is, we are going to be sadly mistaken. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." He says this as he has left off telling us how to treat each other, and then goes into what is needed for spiritual warfare; "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." In other words, it is a spiritual battle that we face, and is one that we should not try to take on in our flesh, or in our own strength. We can try, saying to ourselves, and even promising God, that we shall not do this or that any longer; then setting out to walk accordingly, we soon discover, that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is so very weak! This is where we find David in the writing of this Psalm; it is at a point of realizing how powerless that he actually is, and how dependent he is upon the power of God in dealing with certain things. This is not an unusual thing to happen to us as we set out to perfect our lives in Christ; because, as we begin to surrender more to His will, and to His love, we find ourselves becoming less of a spectator, and more of a warrior; which means, the battle is made more real in our lives!!! But there is another side of this endeavor to become righteous; and that is, that the closer we draw to God, the dirtier we become; the brighter His countenance around us, the more we see the need to be cleansed! "O LORD, rebuke me not in Thine anger, neither chasten me in Thine hot displeasure."