Sunday, August 7, 2011

When you can't sleep...

The other night, it was 2:30 am and I was having a hard time going to sleep. For some reason, I could not calm my mind down. It seemed the longer I remained awake, the more I found to be anxious over.



So, I turned to the Word.

"Why am I discouraged? Why so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise Him again -- my Savior and my God

Through each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life."
Ps. 42:5, 8 

"Yet I still belong to you; you are holding my right hand.
You will keep on guiding me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
My heart and flesh may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
But God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever
But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do"
Psalm 73:23-26, 28 (NLT)

As the Lord continued to minister to me through the Psalms, it seemed as if I was reading David's journal -
Since 10th grade, I have journaled pretty regularly my spiritual walk with the Lord. Sometimes, I write out my prayers to help me remained focused. Other times, I record what the Lord is teaching me. I love having a place to pour out my emotions, fears, praises and questions to God. - It seems to me that Psalms was written as if it were David's journal.

I was also intrigued by the fact that the phrases found in Ps 42:5 ("Why so downcast, Oh my soul? Put your hope in God -") appear other places in the following chapters. What a comfort to . know that David was feeling as I do sometimes, knowing that God is the One I must hope and trust in - yet needing to remind myself of that over and over.  

I quickly found myself relaxed, putting my hope in God - I went to sleep with a song to God in my heart - a old song from my youth group days playing over and over in my head. When you're discouraged - Put your hope in God! He'll give you the peace you are searching for!

2 comments:

  1. I am a night worrier for sure. Things that don't bother me that much at all during the day will make me so anxious at night. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  2. It seems that when my mind actually has a chance to think (at night) I get overwhelmed :) Glad I'm not the only one!

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