PSALM 121:1-4 – I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

THEME OF THE DAY. WHEN SLEEPLESS NIGHTS COME. Had any sleepless nights recently? Did any tossing and turning on our beds? Or maybe we even got up in the dead of night because racing thoughts of worry, stress, and frustration convinced us there was no reason to stay under the sheets?

Our Bibles say a lot about nighttime and the believer’s walk with the Lord. There are negatives and positives. Let’s take the “bad” or negative before the “good” or positive and begin with the life of David who knew both.

First, David experienced sleepless nights due to his unresolved sin – For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah (Psalm 32:3-4). This Psalm is about the blessedness of forgiveness, but that is only enjoyed when confession and repentance occur. And David was slow on both. Look up Psalm 32 and read the first two verses setting the stage for David’s difficult night of sleeping. Friends, if we are not doing well spiritually; if we are indifferent and not dealing with sin forcefully and consistently in our lives, don’t be surprised if God keeps us awake at night to address these sinful issues in our lives. Nighttime visits by God to deal with spiritual issues in our lives often occur because we busy our lives so much during the day, He cannot get our attention. So, when sleeplessness occurs, don’t chalk it up immediately to insomnia or that late dinner. It might be God wanting to do a deep spiritual work in our lives which may well be the work of spiritual examination for the purposes of confession and repentance.

Another time when David could not sleep was due to stress and worry over his life and its difficulties – I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop (Psalm 102:7). I know I haven’t given us much from Psalm 102 to build this case so please get a Bible and read the first eleven verses. We will get the picture quickly. David’s “stress meter” is pegged and each of us knows how that feels in the dead of night when everything outside and around us is quiet, but not inside us. Here is where real spiritual battle occurs. When all alone with racing thoughts, a worrying heart, and an accusing devil, sleep evades us and, like David, we feel the exhausting effects upon us. Should these nighttime battles come, we must immediately look to the positive side of being up at night.

There are two positive spiritual things to do when the sleeplessness of worry and stress come; first, meditate on the Word of God – My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night (Psalm 63:5-6). Change stressing times of being awake to meditating times of being awake. Use the time, not to fret, but grow in the Lord. Another thing to do during sleepless nights is to make them times of worship. David proclaimed, “At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules” (Psalm 119:62). Read His Word aloud to Him, especially the Psalms; sing to Him and spend time just lifting up His Name (not too loudly, we might wake someone up).

Sleepless nights. Don’t dismiss them as not being from the Lord. They may very well be His attempt to get our attention to deal with sin, meditate upon His Word or worship Him in the stillness of a quiet and still night.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to always remember Your faithfulness when I am tempted to fret.”

QUOTE: “If we must stay awake at night, don’t let it be to worry, but to worship.”