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Sleep Tight, Every Night
It's Only Right
by Pastor John Hamel
“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord,
only makes me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)
Do you have trouble sleeping? Do you toss and turn
through the night and never enter into a deep, sound sleep? Possibly
you just lay there thinking about all the things you should have done and
need to do. Whatever your reasons for not sleeping, I have good
news. God’s not your problem. God’s your solution. It’s His will
for you to sleep soundly. The Bible says it’s His will for you to
both lay down in peace and to sleep deeply. It’s not enough for you
to sleep with a troubled mind. God wants you to sleep in peace,
leaving all your troubles with Him as you do so. Let’s read something
else from the Bible.
“And when he [Jesus] was entered into a ship, his
disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the
sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we
perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye
fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the
sea; and there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:23-26)
Now, Jesus knew the potential for storms to rise up at sea, yet
still, He chose to lie down and sleep. Jesus wasn’t afraid
of all the things that could go wrong. He wasn’t troubled by all that
needed to be done later. He wasn’t the least bit concerned about how
He was going to provide for His disciples. Why not? Because Jesus
trusted in His Father’s Word and in His Father’s love.
Jesus knew His Father promised throughout Scripture to protect Him and to provide for Him. (Psalm 91:13; Isaiah 1:19)
Therefore, Jesus made the decision that He was going to lie down and sleep
deeply, allowing His Father’s Word and His Father’s love to watch over
Him. He did just that.
Because Jesus slept sweetly, you can sleep sweetly, too.
The Bible says, “As He is so are we in this world.”
(1John 4:17) God wants
you to sleep as peacefully as Jesus always slept, trusting in His promise
to protect and provide for you. As a matter of fact, God stays up all
night working on your problems, so one of you better get some sleep! (Psalm
121) God said that the one who should be sleeping is YOU! Psalm
127, verse two says God GIVES His beloved sleep. I don’t know about
you, but whenever God’s giving something out, I made up my mind to be the
first in line to receive it. If He’s giving sleep, I’m taking it and
thanking Him for it. How about you?
Why not do what Jesus did? He rebuked those things
that disrupted His sleep and calm set in. Just say, “Every
hindrance to sleep and to God’s will for my life – BE STILL, in Jesus’
Name.” Stand up on the bed and do it if you want to. Then say,
“Father, I now receive Your promise of sweet sleep. Thanks for
working out my problems while I’m sleeping. See You in the
morning. In Jesus’ Name.”
Now as you lie there, don’t bother counting sheep. Lie there
counting on God’s presence to come upon you, putting you into a deep sleep
even as He did on the day of Adam’s rib surgery! He anesthetized Adam
with His love and will do exactly that for you. (Genesis 2:21; Acts
10:34)
By the way, have you asked the Prophet Jesus to be your
Savior? Once you do, you become a family member. (John 1:12)
Just say, “Jesus, You’re my one and only choice.”
(Romans 10:13) When you do that, you’ll not only qualify for His promise of
sleep but for all the other things He promises while you’re awake.
(Deuteronomy 28:1-14)
SLEEP TIGHT. EVERY NIGHT. We do.
Be blessed ... John and Barbara Hamel
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