Romans 8:16: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  and Galatians 5:16 “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”  Most all of us have found ourselves driving down the road about half asleep, in deep concentration or focus, on the cell phone or just not paying attention to our surroundings.  Then and all of a sudden, a danger arises such as another car coming at us across the median or pulling out in front of us.  We immediately become wide awake and in high alert and our brain takes over with a series of neurological actions to avoid the danger and consequences.  Just how does this happen?  When I studied neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, I was intrigued to study about the brain’s Reticular Activating System located in the brain stem and connected to almost all the rest of the brain.  It has functions involved with sleep, consciousness, focused attention, wakefulness and many others.  It has been called the Brain’s Ignition System and is responsible for us to make the transition from a relaxed wakefulness to a state of high alert and attention.  Many times in my life, it has kept me from great harm or danger while driving a car, dealing with a rattlesnake or dodging something coming at me.  You have been there too.  After the saving alertness, I have stopped to thank the Lord.  It is He Who made us and gave us this protection system in our complicated nervous system.

Why have I spent so many words above describing this God-given safety feature of the human brain and body?  It is analogous to the Christian life.  Our two verses this week clearly describe God’s Reticular Activating System in the heart and mind of a Christian.  It is God’s Holy Spirit that alerts us to danger and guides us to take evasive and corrective actions.  We all have times where we find ourselves about half awake or in a relaxed state and need to be alerted to a looming danger.  The Reticular Activating System in our brain initiates an integrated response to outside stimuli and that is what the Holy Spirit does in our Christian walk.  There is one more important point.  Damage to the Reticular Activating System in the human brain can result in a coma and the chances for survival lessen.  We must learn to obey the Holy Spirit and stay alert to the outside stimuli that the enemy uses to harm us in our Christian walk.