“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.” Psalm 3:5
Devotion:
Life is hard. And because life is hard we need help. The temptation in life is to believe that what will sustain us comes from ourselves. This drive to sustain our life keeps us awake, burning the candle at both ends. We research, grasp, and strive to establish a sustained life. But this is an inhuman way to live based upon a false assumption about the world.
We notice how David is able to go to sleep in this psalm. Right in the middle of the difficult situation he is in, he is able to rest. The fact that his son ants to kill him and many are attempting to hurt him isn’t eating him alive. And it isn’t because David has become detached from reality. Rather, it is because he has pressed in to ultimate reality–God Himself.
We are reminded of Jesus, asleep on the boat while his disciples frantically fear for their lives. Jesus lived with a confident assurance because He knew who God was. And David was learning this through prayer.
When we look to God as the sustainer of our life, we too can lie down and sleep, trusting the revolving of the universe to the only one who can actually handle it.
Prayer:
Lord God, You are the author and sustainer of life. We know that You keep the world spinning and that You supply our every breath.
Help us to functionally trust You, moment by moment. We want to be so fully alive in You, that we can go to sleep even when life seems upside down. If You are in control of it all, then though life can seem upside down to us, it is all according to Your good plan.
Give us rest, Lord. Guard us from our empty striving. Lay Your hand of peace upon us. In Jesus’ name, we worship and pray.
Amen.
