“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
During the day things are different than the middle of the night. During the day you can busy your hands, busy your mind, and occupy both with thoughts that detour you to where you would rather mentally reside. But at night, in the realm of dreams, you no longer call the shots. The thoughts of your day resurface, the problems of life seemingly take on newfound life as harsh dreams. And within this cycle, peaceful sleep can be stolen. When fear, turmoil, and inner conflict resound and the REM cycle is interrupted, life can come to a grinding halt. As a life wrestles with the mind, the soul is afforded no true rest. Only in perfect peace can perfect slumber be found. And it is in this sweet spot that we meet David in Psalm 4. Even though he writes most of the psalms on the run from evil, he boldly speaks to the Lord a truth that he has been personally exposed to…true peace in the Lord allows peaceful slumber from the Lord. The Lord is indeed a soft pillow to a heavy heart.
In only the first 4 Psalms of the book of Psalms, King David has already mentioned sleep in two of them. Imagine yourself in king David’s sandals for a moment. He spent almost 15 years of his young life on the run. On the run from his own son Absalom who sought to kill him and take the throne and from mean ol’ bi-polar Saul who sought to kill David so he could not take the throne. It makes me think of a good spy movie where our hero is on the run from the bad guys that lie lurking in every dark shadow. Our hero lives in a perpetual state of fear, paranoia, and readiness. Even at night, no sleep will come to the heart that lies in fear of what is around the next corner. But king David, living a life of hopping from cave to cave, hiding place to hiding place, knowing that at any minute his enemy could end his life, was able to take refuge in the Lord, lay his head down, and peacefully drift into a soul reviving sleep.
Today, how is your sleep? Are there unresolved issues that are robbing you of peaceful slumber? Satan is beyond crafty and can and will use every single thread of doubt, fear, and sinful self-desire to delve deep into the darkness of your rest. King David had found the solution to clearing out the mental cache that can revisit at night. King David was constantly in touch with the Lord during the day. He was constantly pouring out his fears and concerns upon the only One that could cleanse and counsel him in them. And it is in this process that David was granted peace. Peace in knowing that nothing on this Earth could separate him from the love of his Creator. A sharp sword could end his life, but it would only begin his eternity with God. A swift unseen arrow could, in a second, pierce his body, but it could not pierce the great faith he had in a God that loved him. You see, David was not afraid of this life, but instead embraced his guarantee of Heaven. David’s feet walked this earth, but his soul walked in Heaven. I pray today that are living in a thriving, abundant relationship with your Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray that you are engaged in a deep personal daily study of His Word, for in it lies the constant encouragement to deal with the fears and issues of this world. I pray that you are lost in daily constant prayer to the Lord, giving Him your fears and concerns the minute they surface. For living in constant prayer to the Father, lies the peace of giving your worries away to the only One that can properly burden them. A life lived in these principles will be a life that can empty itself of sin, worry, doubt, and fear. And a life lived in the absence of those, is a life that can be lived in the presence of the peace of Christ. Sleep well in the Lord.
“My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Proverbs 3:21-24
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