Sleep

What do you do when you can’t sleep? Do you get up and watch tv or look at your phone? Do you lay there praying for sleep to come again? I’ve written about this before, but last night was another rough night and I need this post today.

Let us look to Jesus first.

“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Jesus knew where to find wisdom and peace. He is our example. We are also reminded to worship.

“Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord, Who serve by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭134‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NASB1995

This song has been thrumming in my mind..‬Counting Every Blessing by Rend Collective and this one Count Your Blessings by the Martins

How about a look forward? There will come a day…

“And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭23‬-‭27‬ ‭NASB1995

The Psalmist reminds..

‬‬“So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NASB1995

Blessing the Lord in the middle of the night. Blessing when you are in pain. Blessing when life is good. Remember the Lord in the middle of the night, think of Him. Things change in my mind when I do this. And what if I changed the language of dread that I am not sleeping? What if I…

“My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭148‬ ‭NASB1995

To be honest, I am not there yet, but this is something to ponder. If I am awake, I have an opportunity to pray. Not only for myself, for others.

One other thought, when I am in pain, there is the throbbing reminder. It can easily turn me inward and towards a dread that this will never end. So I’ll end with a passage that has always been near and dear to me.

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

‬‬Through Jesus let us remind one another, we have been freed. The slavery of fear and dread has been vanquished by the sacrifice of One. He gives us help. He understands. He knows. He is merciful and He is faithful. Our sins are paid, once for all. He comes to our aid, in the middle of the night. Trust Him.