Peace

'In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord , make me dwell in safety.'

Psalm 4:8 ESV


I'm not wishing to belittle insomnia. Yet sleep is a gift of God. I don't regularly suffer from insomnia, but at times I have I have literally gone mad, like any of us would if we didn't get enough sleep.

Without wishing to generalise, I think a lot of insomnia is down to doubting that God helps us to dwell in safety. If that's us, we can ask him for the free gift of faith in him. If we get a good night's sleep, or any rest at all, we should be thankful to him.

I think insomnia can lead us one or two ways. It can drive us away from God in despair, or towards God in prayerful dependence for the rest we need. I'm sure David had plenty of sleepless nights in his tumultuous life, but he trusted in God to give him the rest he needed.

When David was a fugitive, on the run from murderous king Saul, or even as a king battling enemy kingdoms, he must have struggled with lack of rest. As the saying goes, 'heavy is the head that wears the crown'. Yet he found the rest he needed in the Lord his God, who took him from tending his dad's sheep to leading the nation of Israel.

'Dear Lord, please help us to find the rest we need in you. For we ask in the name of Christ, amen'.


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