Get out of airplane mode

"How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?" Proverbs 6:9

I go through times of not hearing God and other times where it seems as if God's messages to me are like Niagara Falls, unleashing revelation and messages in a heavy, unleashable manner.  I found this week to be the latter situation.  Nothing majorly profound, but important nonetheless.  

While driving with my kids last week, my youngest asked, "What's airplane mode?"  Her question was out of the blue, and as I answered it, I felt God impress on my heart the importance of applying the concept of airplane mode to our lives.  

Why does our phone have an airplane mode setting?  Those who fly and have cel phones can easily answer this question.  Our phones have this setting for a couple of different reasons.  

First, it stops your phone from sending and receiving texts and calls because it prevents your phone from communicating with cellular towers.  It also disconnects your phone from a WiFi network, disables your Bluetooth, and it may also disable your phone's GPS function.   In airplane mode, your phone is on vacation.  It's not looking for a signal.  It's sleeping, in a sense.  Communication has been cut off.  

Spiritually, many Christians are in airplane mode.  Little decisions and little actions subtly change the trajectory of our course, and this deceptively leads us to a very complacent place in our Christian walk.  

What are the things that cut off connection & communication with God?  The list can be long and is personal to each individual.  Maybe it is to do lists that keep us busy and distracted, or relationships where we place people on the throne higher than God.  It could be bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, anger, rejection, pain, and so much more.  Emotions left out of check, or walls around our hearts also disconnect us from God.   

Our culture is distracting with entertainment, social media, social gatherings, materialism, and current events. The worldview that we live in is a strong current of lies.  Also, sin easily entangles us, cutting us off from hearing God's voice.  So many things fill that place in our heart that only God is meant to fill.  

All of the above, and so much more, inevitably cut us off from being connected to God.  It isn't worth it!  God does not want us in airplane mode.  He wants commune with us!  He delights in us, and just as Adam used to walk in the cool of the day with God, the Lord wants this closeness with us.  Airplane mode leaves us in the clouds, in a spiritual haze.  

It is imperative to be connected to God for wisdom, guidance, truth, convictions, discernment, and words to speak to those who don't know Him.  The airplane mode switches off the Holy Spirit.  If you find yourself far from God, "asleep" during church services, unable to hear his voice, check your heart.  "Search me, God, and know my heart."  Psalm 139:23

Ask people to pray for you, fast from food or social media or anything that steals your time, cry out to God, read the word, get with Christians who inspire you towards God, or go to that sanctuary where it's easiest to be with Him.  He is waiting for you!  It's time to get out of the clouds, church!  He's called us to go into all of the world to make disciples.  We have work to do!