ZZZZzzz.... Ringgggg... Snooze...

It's 730am in the morning and my alarm is ringing. Yours may ring even earlier than that... and if you're like me, you will hit the snooze button and sleep for another five minutes. "Five more minutes and I will get up from bed."

At least that's what I thought...

But then the snoozing can go on for five to ten times. In the occasion when I was very tired, I would even just ignored the alarm altogether and continued sleeping like a log :p

Snooze button. Whoever first came up with that idea is a genius. The ability to delay your wake up call with just a push of a button is very convenient. But of course, it comes with a price.

Snoozing away the alarm may extend your sleeping hour. But you can never avoid the inevitable. At some point you have to wake up and go to school/work. And every time you press the snooze button, you're actually raising the chance of getting late.

In this life, the alarm sound can be analogized as as wake up call from God. In our everyday life where temptations are abundant, we're often get side-tracked from His way. Thus He continuously send wake-up calls to remind us that we're actually drifting away.

For most of us, we usually know that it is His voice we're hearing. That's when you sense a nudge in your heart, a feeling of uneasiness when you do something you shouldn't... or don't do something you should.

For me I experienced that when I walked past an old, crippled man selling tissues on the pathway to my office. Several times I just waltzed away, knowing fully that he needed help. But either I was in a rush to the office or it was too crowded that I decided to say "Next time". Talking about snoozing.

Several days, weeks and months passed by... and not even once did I buy his tissue. Heck, I was even so get used to it that sometime I just didn't feel anything anymore whenever I walked pass by him.

Dear friends, I'm sure many of you can relate to this experience of mine. Sometimes it's easier for us to find excuses rather than doing what we should do.

Of course, I'm not saying that you have to buy some packs of tissues from every auntie or uncle you meet (unless you really have that much money :p). But it is when you feel that nudge in your heart, that might be God's voice telling you to be an arm to extend His love to the needy... and you need to act upon it.

To put it in a broader view, it could be helping old lady with heavy groceries to board the bus, comforting your friends in troubles, giving seats to pregnant women in MRT and many more. The people around you are always in need of something. It is up to you whether to be responsive to his call... or to just snooze it away.

Each one of us has some areas that we are more sensitive with. That's where we usually feel the prompting more often. For me, I usually more sensitive in sensing the emotional condition of people around me. I often get a hunch that some people are in distress or in need of comfort. I can't explain why I can sense that, so I believe that it's God calling me to do something for that person.

But sometimes I throw an argument when I received this hunch: "Hey, I think I'm also having problem now. I should be the one to get pitied upon. Why am I the only one who can sense that people are in trouble? Why no one can sense mine?". I tried to justify my decision to ignore the call as logically speaking, I'm not wrong.

My brothers and sisters, you may also think that God is often calling you not in the right time... and so you have the right to snooze it. But hey, God's time is always perfect ain't it? I mean He's God. Why would He ask someone who clearly can't do what He wants? There must be something missing here...

From this question, I came to realize that we've only been thinking about our own capacity to complete something that is much bigger. Of course it can never be accomplished.

If it's only buying some packets of tissue when you are sitting waiting for the food and have $2 to spare, God may not need to 'nudge' your heart. But when God does 'nudge' your heart, it's more often than not require you to sacrifice something, and it can be pretty significant.

Dear friends, when God calls, please don't think of it as if your boss ordering you to do some stuffs. When God calls, He means to say "Work with me here will ya?". He wants to do the work TOGETHER. And so you can always have confident to ask "Help me O, Lord." and He will equip you.

I know He asks pretty demanding tasks sometimes, but He always keeps His promise. He's always there to provide what I'm lacking. When I feel I'm busy, He provides time to spare. When I feel I'm down, He inspires me to crack some jokes to cheer people up. And when I feel I'm in hatred, He gives me love to share. When I am weak, He is strong!

Brothers and sisters, do think twice before you snooze next time. It's one thing if you're not sure whether it's God's voice. But when you do recognize His voice, you might be missing in taking part of His wonderful plan by snoozing. Most of the times, you will grow so much more by saying yes.

Lastly, you can never get away just by keep snoozing. It is for your own good that He rings the alarm in your heart. He's constantly inviting you to draw closer to Him.

Getting late for work may not be so detrimental. But getting late for His coming is not something anyone can afford to take.

May The Holy Spirit fill you with overflowing love and courage to always be faithful to His call :)

Peace n luv!