Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- July 21, 2010
“That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.” Esther 6:1
Sometimes life wakes us up in the middle of the night. The worries of the world can be heavy, even painstaking. Their severity can flush us out of bed like prey running from a predator. It is hard to sleep when fear grips our heart, but Christ calms our conscience. A good night’s sleep is God’s gift. He provides firm reassurance during our fickle times.
Your heart may be heavy with financial worries, relational stress and/or health issues. A child may be giving you fits. A teenager can add to your growing gray hair. Or, a tragic accident can add fuel to your fears—a lawsuit may be looming. It is hard to sleep when your circumstances seem out of control. What are you to do? A full night’s sleep has become as common as a snowflake in the desert. You lose heart when you lose sleep.
Can night interruptions be wisely interpreted? Yes. God speaks in the middle of the night. He may speak through the Bible. He may speak through a quiet prayer and contemplation. Either way, He has my attention and He wants me to listen to Him. “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Psalm 63:6).
Take the time to journal during this time of sleep deprivation. If you do not write down your “God thoughts” there is a good chance you will forget what He may be saying. The record of your engagement with God will becomes a future hope and encouragement. Your written word will serve as a reminder of God’s personal care and direction.
The fear of the night will give way to the peace of the morning. Do not waste this time. Convert your late night ‘pity party’ to a ‘prayer party’. Let God heal your soul and comfort your heart. He works 24/7 even when we are unaware. Let your God encounters in the middle of the night become an opportunity for your life to change. “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me” (Psalm 16:7).
Solicit your Savior Jesus to change you. You cannot change others and you may not be able to change your circumstances. But, by God’s grace, you can make changes. Ask Him to make you more forgiving. Allow the unlimited forgiveness of God to flow through you. Be a channel of God’s grace to those in your life who are undeserving and unloving.
He is here to walk with you through adversity, not to crush you under its weight. Christ’s companionship will add hours to your sleep and maybe years to your life. Use this time of sleeplessness to grow your faith. The Lord’s largeness looms over your opportunities like a fresh coat of morning dew over grass. He has you covered. He can be trusted. This situation did not sneak up on Him. Go back to sleep and rest securely in His arms.
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).
Does my rest at night rest in the Lord? What is God trying to teach me during my unrest?
Related Readings: Genesis 2:21; Proverbs 3:24; Acts 12:6; 2 Corinthians 11:27
Boyd Bailey is the author of Wisdom Hunters daily devotional and two devotional books, Infusion and Seeking Daily the Heart of God
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“Forgive your heavenly Father for allowing you to go through this hardship.” ???????
How about “Repent for being resentful that you must go through this hardship”?
Nathan you are right at face value it doesn’t make sense.
Forgiving God is not because God needs forgiveness, but because we need reconciliation to Him. Evil and suffering causes some of us to resent “acts of God” or God allowing injustice to happen. If this is this case then we need to reconcile with our Creator. He has already reconciled us to Himself, but we have to be reconciled to Him through grace and forgiveness:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
For further study check out this link… http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d031002.htm
Have a blessed day!
Boyd
I have been severely sleep deprived for several months now. I suspect it is due to allergy season; it started early in Michigan in March. This is has been very tough for me. I have issues trusting God, been working on it for so long now. In the dark hours and early morning, many times I don’t feel like reading Scripture because I am angry and I can’t concentrate; I don’t feel patient and loving toward God; however, some mornings, I have read and journaled. Honestly, it is a miracle of God that I am still functional. I don’t know what He is trying to teach me, maybe patience and dependence. When I opened up my email this morning and saw this message after going through another night with not enough sleep, I broke down sobbing – I’ve been holding it in for so long because I get sick of crying. This message was truly fitting for me today. I pray to the Lord for strength during this scary, troubling period. I praise you for being with me, even when I struggle so much to trust you. Praise you for being the mighty God that you are!