Kingdom Caffeine

Our country runs on caffeine. Ok, so maybe you are “on the wagon” and have sworn off of caffeine for health reasons.  You are better off than most of us.  Your heart thanks you for the consideration.

America leads the way in world caffeine consumption with an estimated 971 tons a year. There is a lot of interesting trivia associated with caffeine.  Did you know it only takes 10 minutes for it to enter your system?  It takes about 10 hours for 75% of the caffeine you consume to exit.  And here is the best piece of information for us addicts: caffeine is an antioxidant which helps us fight disease!

If only our drinks didn’t contain all of those other possible carcinogens we could put soft drinks in the health section of our grocery stores!

One of the least desired effects of caffeine, at least in the evening, is that it can keep up awake when it’s time to sleep. This is why every serious consumer has a ready supply of “caffeine-free” beverages.

But outside of caffeine, or other health problems that might make it difficult for you to sleep, what keeps you awake at night? What is so important that it makes it hard to stop what you are doing long enough to get the rest you need?

Years ago I read about a man who was a house guest of a famous evangelist. The guest woke up in the middle of the night and noticed a light was on in the office of the evangelist.  He walked softly down the hallway and peeked curiously through the cracked door.  The evangelist was seated at his desk with his arms around a world globe, crying.

Weird?

Sort of.

But you have probably already guessed what the evangelist was doing. He was praying for and weeping over lost souls in the world.  As the guest watched, the evangelist spun the globe, and each time it came to rest on a new location he repeated his passionate pleas to the Lord.

Again, what keeps you up at night?

Please don’t feel badly if it is a personal struggle. There are all kinds of battles that make our minds race, and lead us to the throne of grace in the early hours of the morning.  Sleeplessness is not a sin.  Alright, worry can be a sin.  But here is my point: kingdom people think about kingdom things, and the most important thing in the kingdom here is our mission to the lost.

This means we should examine the things that keep us up at night and give them the “kingdom test.” The “kingdom test” might be phrased, “If the things that keep me from getting to sleep don’t work out, will it make an eternal difference?”

There are a few things that will lead us to answer “yes.” Our relationship with the Lord is a “yes.”  And most certainly we can answer “yes” for those who don’t know Jesus.

If you had one too many cups of coffee, hang in there. You will eventually drift off to sleep.  Just don’t forget the most important thing you have to do when you wake up.

If you aren’t sure what it is, let me give you a hint: It involves the people you will want standing with you when you meet Jesus.