**I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.**Psalm 4:8
How many times do we lie down at night and our thoughts go round and round in our heads about what happened today or yesterday or what we have to do tomorrow? Maybe we listen to the recording in our heads of a conversation we had with someone that maybe was not as kind and positive as it should have been. Or maybe, it is the details of an upcoming event, or our worries about our children that keep us awake. It could be concerns about our health or that of a loved one. How many times have we lost hours of sleep because we have not taken this simple cure? This simple Solution to sleepless nights.
The psalmist tells us that the Lord only makes us dwell in safety. Yet, how much time do we waste, how much energy do we spend, how much frustration do we live, because we focus on our troubles instead of these words of faith? Do we remember the stories from the books of Samuel that tell us how much time David spent running from his enemies and feared for his life? His life was not a worry free life. He had a chariot load of problems. Maybe it is during these times that he wrote this psalm.
It seems that David understood that all he could do is do what was right and not seek revenge on those that sought to harm him. It is like he was living before his time and following Jesus’s message to love our enemies. David did what he could do to keep himself and his loved ones safe and then he left the rest up to God. God is our ultimate Protector and the Determiner of who prospers and who doesn’t and who is on the throne and who isn’t. So, why do we fuss so much about what we cannot control?
I spent years struggling with an inability to shut off my thoughts and being able to go to sleep at night. Until one night, I decided to repeat this verse in my head to see if it would help me to stop with my night worries. Since I started reciting Psalm 4:8, I find it easier to fall asleep, I have less disturbing dreams and nightmares, I wake up with less anxiety, and I find my faith in God has grown as I have put these words to the test. I encourage you to not be afraid to test God at His Word. I can assure you that they both will exceed your expectations.
Some additional verses that could help battle a sleepless night:
- Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Ps 119:165
- Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
- It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep
- Psalm 127:2
Sleep well!!