The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber.

Devotion based on Romans 13:11

Her name was Rosina Hernandez. She was a woman who carried a troubled conscience. When Rosina was in college, she and some friends decided to attend a rock concert. During the concert, an incident arose in the area where she and her friends were standing. A young man began beating up another man. While that was going on, no one stopped to intervene. Everyone stood there in a daze and did nothing—including Rosina. Finally, the authorities arrived. An ambulance took the beaten man to the hospital, but it was too late. The next day Rosina heard that the beaten man had died. A man had died, and she—Rosina Hernandez—had not even tried to stop it. Her sleepy inaction on that night haunted her for years.

You and I have been guilty of sleepy inaction too. Every time we have allowed a fellow Christian to drift away from Jesus, every time we have passed up an opportunity to comfort a hurting soul for fear of what to do or say, or every time that we’ve put off talking to someone about the Savior because it was easier not to. That’s the same kind of sleepy inaction that can allow the devil to have his way.

But Jesus does not disown us for our sleepy inaction. Instead, he comes to us in his Word. His Spirit brings us to repentance. He cleanses us in his blood and renews our resolve to bring our sleepy inaction to an end.

The years passed. One day, on a wet, coastline highway, Rosina Hernandez saw the car in front of her skid out of control and plunge into the bay. Only the rear of the car was sticking out of the water. A woman emerged, screaming that her husband was trapped inside. This time Rosina was ready. She ran into the water, then shouted and begged the crowd of bystanders to come and help her. Finally, one man stepped forward, then another, then more. Together they were able to enter the car and drag the man out. They did so just in time and Rosina was elated. Her sleepy inaction was gone.

Prayer: