“I’ll Wake You When It’s Time”

I love listening to music, and ever since getting Apple Music a couple of years ago, the way I enjoy music has changed. Usually, I will find a new album or song and listen to it constantly for about a week until I wear it out and become familiar with it. About 2 months ago, however, I discovered a band called The Arcadian Wild, and they have dominated my music consumption ever since. This band is unlike any I have ever heard before. A blend of bluegrass and folk music, The Arcadian Wild balances powerful, thought-provoking lyrics with an insanely talented instrumentation of fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and string bass. 

My favorite project from the band, however, is an EP they released in 2021 called Principium. This EP is, in my opinion, nothing short of a masterpiece. Principium tells the story of Genesis 1-3. In a cycle of four songs, the listener hears God’s creation of man and His call to Adam to have dominion over the earth. You hear the first signs of temptation and the creation of Eve. You listen as the fall occurs and they sink their “teeth into a lie.” Finally, you hear the original instance of shame as they are expelled from the garden, longing to return home again. These songs, following the flow of the four seasons – titled Spring: Wake, Summer: Walk, Fall: War, and Winter: Will – convey this true story that has become stagnant and dry to many who are familiar with it in a beautiful, poetic manner. And to top it all off, each song features instrumental breaks that perfectly convey the appropriate emotion. Again, I believe Principium is nothing short of a masterpiece. 

But my favorite part of the whole album comes in the final song, Winter: Will. The first humans despair,

“I was living in a paradise, but now I fight

A war against my own name and I’m fighting all alone

Gained, I have, the world; lost, have I, everything else

I’d give it all up if it all began, like a faithful friend, to feel like home again

For I am begotten, not forgotten

I know I’ve changed, but I still look like you”

After these heartbreaking lyrics, however, the music shifts back to the motif of the original song. Rewording the first lyrics of Spring: Wake, the singer gently croons these beautiful words: 

“Lay down, sleepyhead

Rest your bones in that flower bed

I’ll wake you when it’s time

We’ll walk in the warmth of an endless light”

It is in this final verse that we find the hope of the resurrection.

Adam and Eve had sinned against God. Sin had entered the world. They had been banished from the garden God made for them. Perfection was broken. Innocence was shattered. Paradise was lost. Now, they would die physically. 

But the words of 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 ring true: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Sin and death have plagued the earth ever since Adam and Eve gave themselves over to their sinful lusts, but Christ has defeated these foes through His death and resurrection! Death will not reign forever, for Christ will defeat even this enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). The resurrection is why we can have hope even in the despair of the fall. 

Because Jesus has been raised, we will be too. 

The cross was not God’s plan B. The Lord’s sovereign plan has always been to redeem His people and His earth through His Son. Even in the garden after the fall, God declared that the serpent would bruise Jesus’ heel, but that He would bruise Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). Satan tried to harm and dissuade Jesus, but the victory belongs to Christ. He has triumphed over Satan and his demons, defeating sin and death eternally. 

Yes, we will die physically, but if we have trusted in Christ, we will not die spiritually. We will go to be with Him, and our bodies will be resurrected upon His return. He will wake us when it’s time, and we will walk in the warmth of an endless light. This endless light is Jesus Himself (John 8:12, Revelation 21:22-25). 

So we need not despair over the fall and the brokenness of this earth. Sin is a tragic reality, but one day it will be banished from the earth eternally, and we will walk in the Light Himself forever. Do you know Him? Do you have this hope of resurrection even in the brokenness you see daily? If not, repent of your sins and believe in Jesus today! He is the light, and it is because He lives that we have hope. 

Also, side note – this devotion did give me the excuse to fanboy a little bit, and I really do hope you go and check out Principium! It’s amazing to listen to such creative music that bears this Christian message of hope.