“ . . . To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison, and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Isaiah 42:7

“God comes to us disguised as our life, and if we fail to be open to the flow of our life and the gifts it brings us, we cannot be genuinely open to God.”[1]

One of the first words we learn as children is “no.”  Why is that do you think?  Is it because it is simply so easy to say?  Or is it because we are mimicking what we hear other people (namely our parents) so often say?  Or is it because we are simply wired that way; to be closed off to something new?  I don’t know.  I DO know that this instinctual pattern repeats itself as we grow older and experience the realities of life.  As we get battered and bruised by the inevitable difficulties that come with daily living, we begin to form a barrier between ourselves, the world, others, and maybe even God.  We want to protect ourselves, rightfully so, against the problems and pain that seem so prominent in our life, and against anyone or anything that might hurt us.  My dear mother would occasionally say, “You’ve got to fight your way through life.”  And unfortunately, that’s what we do.  The unfortunate result is that we become like weary soldiers merely marching along, worn out by the last battle and fearful of the next one to be fought. 

In order to be spiritually awake our response to life must move from being closed off, fearful, narrow-minded and mean spirited, to being open and vulnerable, with a free-flowing spirit that creates us to be in touch and in tune with God.  In other words, our response needs to be “Yes”, not “No.”  “Yes” to what?  To The Divine Invitation to let the Love of God in, and to Live in that love, not in fear.

These invitations come in many forms.  Sometimes they are incredibly obvious, like the one that Moses experienced with the Burning Bush, or that Saul did in the bright Light and Voice on the road to Damascus. In other words, a life crisis, where God demands our attention.  This might be compared to waking up to the annoying buzz or blaring music of an alarm.  At first, we might look away like Moses did, trying to ignore God, or hit the “snooze” button and go back to sleep.  But if we are open, our spirit will recognize the Spirit of God at work, even and especially in these trying, terrible, and traumatic experiences.

Or sometimes the invitation to open is much more subtle, a mere whisper, like when God spoke to Elijah outside of the cave, or when Jesus spoke a simple “Follow Me” to the disciples.  This might remind us of our mother or father gently touching our shoulder or forehead in the morning and whispering, “It’s time to wake up.” This whisper also takes many forms, like an encounter with another person who is awake, a walk in nature, or maybe an inspirational word read in Scripture or some other devotional writing. 

I have personally experienced both types of invitations.  One was the jarring wake-up call of dissolution of my marriage, death of my mother, and departure from my profession as a pastor. The other was the constant, gentle, loving, whisper of God, some in the sweet words recorded in Scripture verses like the one above, but also in those found in books like “An Invitation to Love,” by Thomas Keating, and “The Inner Voice of Love,” by Henri Nouwen.

Whatever form it might take, the point is that there is some type of Divine Invitation that we receive to wake up, to be open, and to say “Yes” to the Spirit.

Have you, or are you living in fear, closed off, saying “no” to God’s love and life?

What Divine Invitation(s) have you or are you receiving?  What was or might be your response?

How is The Spirit calling to you now?  What might it look like to say “yes?”

Consider this beautiful poetic verse which describes the open response, the “yes”, to The Beloved.

“Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom—there I will give you my love.”[2]

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[1] “Spirituality and the Awakening Self”, by David Benner. P. 64

[2] Song of Songs 7:12