“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
Devotion:
We generally equate sleeplessness with restlessness. If we can’t sleep, it is because we sense that there is something to stay up and think about, fear, or worry about. Conversely, to be able to sleep is to be at rest.
There are some good, but rare, reasons to stay awake. At times, Jesus chose communion with God over sleep, and before He offered Himself up on the cross, He poured out His heart in watchful agony to His Father. But generally, when we are believing the truth and accepting the limitations of our humanity, we can have rest of soul. While Jesus had a few moments of sleeplessness, the overall characteristic of His life was one of confident peace found in His unwavering trust in His Father.
So, at times, God Himself might rob us of our peace to keep us watchful, hungry, and desperate. But at other times, God Himself gives us peace. When He gives us His peace, a fruit of His Spirit which comes to us through Christ, it surpasses understanding. Just like the joy that God gives (Psalm 4:7), the peace that God gives is not dependent upon the atmosphere of our circumstances. The world may be turned upside down around us, but God alone can surround us with eternal safety.
Prayer:
Lord God, we fully trust Your fatherly intuition. If You steal our peace to get our attention, we trust it is for a good reason. But what we don’t want is for our circumstances to steal our peace. We believe that You are our refuge. And if You are for us, who can be against us?
So, would You lead us to the peace that surpasses understanding? Would You calm our souls? Would You give us rest in our bodies that flows from rest in our hearts?
Lord, please test us so we might see the sinfully anxious and selfishly ambitious ways in us. We never want to be robbed of rest because of our unbelief. So give us faith that reflects the kind of trust You are worthy of. In Jesus’ name, we worship and pray. Amen.
