Blood or Bond?
Andrene G.
Author of the nonfiction book “Ahh... To Zen! An A to Z Guide to a Great Life.”
What’s Behind Those 3 AM to 5 AM Wake-Ups?
Have you ever found yourself waking up between 3 AM and 5 AM, wondering why you cannot fall back asleep? This morning that happened to me, again. As I lay wondering whether I should get up and watch the television or try to go back to sleep, I turned to see if daylight was dawning. When I could not ascertain by the glimmer of light peering through my window, I reached for my phone to check the time. It was 4:40 AM. I rolled over attempting to fall back asleep but had an epiphany: “When the Bible talked about the woman with the issue of blood, what if it wasn't a blood disease but rather issues with bloodline or blood relatives?” 4:45 AM. I hopped onto ChatGPT Open AI and popped in my query. But I'll digress for a moment. While many attribute these early-morning interruptions to biological or emotional causes, others view them as spiritual wake-up calls.
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Sacred Hour Spiritual Insights
Waking up between 3 AM and 5 AM is often linked to a variety of interpretations, depending on cultural, spiritual, and physiological perspectives. Let’s explore these commonly held phenomena:
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Spiritual and Metaphysical Perspectives
In many spiritual traditions, the hours between 3 AM and 5 AM are often considered a divine connection or sacred—a time when the veil between the natural and supernatural realms is thinnest. Perhaps the most potent time to hear from God, the universe, or your higher self through prayer, meditation, or introspection. A time to realize your own latent powers or hinderances.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), waking up at certain times correlates with energy imbalances in specific organs. Between 3 AM and 5 AM is linked to the lungs. The lungs are associated with grief and emotional processing, which may signal the need to address unresolved feelings or spiritual alignment.
Psychological and Emotional Insights
Our brain processes subconscious activity such as our emotions and thoughts during sleep. Waking up during these hours might indicate unresolved stress, anxiety, or deep emotional concerns overwhelming the circuit. This could be a wake-up call from a cardiac arrest. Notwithstanding, for some, this is a time for creative inspiration or problem-solving. The quietness of the early morning fosters clarity and creativity.
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Biological and Lifestyle Factors
The body’s circadian rhythm or internal clock might be disrupted due to stress, diet, or poor sleep patterns. Secondly, stress hormones known as cortisol often peak during this time, which can cause you to wake up if you’re overly anxious or tense. Lastly, dietary causes such as low blood sugar or dehydration can disrupt sleep cycle, leading to early-morning wakefulness. A literal wake-up call to take better care of your physical self.
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Reflective Exploration
If like me, you found yourself waking up between 3 AM and 5 AM, wondering why it happening? This early-morning phenomenon is more common than you might think; and as you can see, interpretations vary across spiritual, emotional, and biological perspectives. Whether the cause is spiritual, emotional, or biological, waking up between 3 AM and 5 AM offers an opportunity to tune into your needs. Use this time for prayer, journaling, or meditation to explore deeper meanings. Reflect on your feelings and any stressors that might need attention and evaluate your sleep hygiene, diet, and stress management to support better rest. These wake-up times could be a call to deeper awareness.
So, let’s revisit my epiphany. Based on what we just learned about sacred hour, I deduced that mine was a combination of all three. However, I attribute it more profoundly to a spiritual wake-up call given the nature of what came next. Why did that passage pop into my head at that sacred time? Reimagining the account of the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34) in this way was a deeply symbolic and divine intervention. Examining it both exegetically (drawing meaning from the text itself) and eisegetically (inferring external meanings or applications) is truly life-giving.
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Exegesis: What the Text Says
Context in the Gospels—Blood
The woman had suffered from a condition of blood for 12 years, making her ceremonially unclean according to Jewish law (Leviticus 15:25-30). This isolation would have been physical, social, and spiritual. She had spent all she had on doctors but only grew worse, emphasizing her desperation. Her healing came when she touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Her act of reaching out was a bold step in faith, especially given her marginalized status. This brave act led to profound healing. Not just physical, but spiritual and social restoration. Jesus not only heals her, he also affirms her by calling her "daughter," a term of endearment and spiritual inclusion.
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Eisegesis: A Symbolic Application to Relational Issues
If we interpret her "issue of blood" as familial struggles—perhaps with "blood relatives"—as was revealed to me in that sacred hour, the story takes on new dimensions of healing and redemption.
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Context in the World—Bond
In Jewish culture, the number 12 represents completeness or the span of time someone endures relational strife. Twelve also signifies divine government or God's order (e.g., 12 tribes of Israel). That suggests her suffering had reached its ordained limit, preparing her for a breakthrough. Her physical condition isolated her. Strained relationships can lead to feelings of exclusion and shame, both within families and communities.
Her story represents those who feel unseen or dismissed in their struggles. When that happens, it often led people to seek help from the wrong source—sometimes even keeping them tied to the ones who continually hurt them. The woman spent all she had on physicians to no avail.
Similarly, we often expend emotional or financial resources trying to mend relationships through unhelpful means, only to feel more depleted. Her decision to reach out could parallel the emotional and spiritual bravery required to confront and heal relational wounds. The act of "touching Jesus" could symbolize seeking divine intervention to transform these struggles and reestablish your identity. In a relational context, this could symbolize the restoration of one's place in a family or community, even finding new spiritual kinship.
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Exegetical and Eisegetical Synthesis
From an exegetical standpoint, the passage shows Jesus' power to heal what seems incurable and restore what appears broken. Through an eisegetical lens, it invites us to consider broader applications, including relational healing. What if the "issue of blood" points to a deeper reality: the wounds we carry from those closest to us? Like the woman, the solution lies not in denial or external fixes but in an encounter with the divine.
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Questions to ponder:
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A Final Thought
Waking up at these early hours may feel inconvenient, but it can also be a gentle tap toward self-reflection and healing. Whether it’s a call for spiritual alignment, emotional healing, or lifestyle adjustments, embracing this time with curiosity and openness can transform it from an interruption into a breakthrough.
The woman with the issue of blood found healing by boldly stepping into her faith with courage and conviction. Your 3 AM wake-ups could be a call to confront, heal, and grow—whether spiritually, emotionally, or physically. It could be your opportunity to reach out for restoration, just as she did. Perhaps the answers you seek is seeking you. Choose how to respond to the call.