Trusting God Leads To Peaceful Sleep

According to an article on Harvard Medical School’s website, we spend about a third of our lives asleep. The sad reality is, tens of millions of Americans do not get the sleep their bodies need. Nearly 20% of American adults report using some kind of sleep medication. Some have turned to alcohol for relief, and others have seemingly tried everything without relief. Can you relate to that?

As for myself, I have spent my share of sleepless nights, rolling over and over in my bed for hours. I couldn’t stop mulling over some vexing problem with a co-worker. Maybe I wake up in the middle of the night, grab a glass of water, and my brain kicks in. I cannot get any more sleep no matter how hard I try. I start to imagine everything that can go wrong in my situation. I have conversations in my head with people who are blissfully asleep, unaware of my sleepless suffering! The next day I feel weak. I go around like a zombie with black rings under my bloodshot eyes as I down cups of coffee to stay awake.

It is futile to lose precious sleep and my health because I cannot let go of what I cannot change. We should all agree that it is futility!

The psalmist, who had his share of troubles and enemies, realized that to meditate on anything other than God’s all-sufficient provision is ridiculous! To worry about tomorrow’s problems only robs us of our desperately needed rest tonight. I have also found that most of the things I fearfully anticipated never showed up the next day. I just foolishly chose to get stuck in a worst-case scenario simulation loop! As a result, I became anxious and fretful. I forgot that the Lord cares for me and that He was waiting for me ….