Sleep? How?

SLEEP? HOW?

Time to go to bed

Have you ever been really sleepy until your head hit the pillow? What's with that, anyhow? I know the reason for one sleepless season in my life, and I found a cure.

My husband had taken a part-time job with a nighttime cleaning service. We needed the extra income, but the place we lived did not feel secure.

Each night I would stay up as late as I could, then to go to bed hoping to fall asleep, but sleep eluded me.

Being in ministry, part of our salary included housing on church property. It was set quite close to the street and there was no separation from the driveway into the church parking lot.

I was glad for the streetlight out front, but the parsonage felt more public than private to me. 

What's that noise?

After midnight one night, I heard angry voices outside my bedroom window. I got up and carefully pulled back the curtains to peek out.

The shouting continued, then a car door opened and a woman was pushed out. She gained her balance but the car sped off. She walked on after it.

Even as an observer I found this unsettling. In our family you might argue but never shout, and physical abuse was never an option.

I had been alone a lot over the years. The new twist was that this was my husband's first night job.

I began to wonder is there a scripture I could use to help me sleep? I knew Psalm 23 very well, but that didn't seem exactly what I needed.

Sleep is so refreshing

In a Bible Concordance I looked up the word sleep. I found Psalm 4:8. The New King James translation puts it this way: I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Wow! The promise of two things I needed . . . peace and sleep! Every night I would turn my fears over to the Lord as I lay down and quoted that verse.

I slept because I believe God's Word is true. An ancient scripture in Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) says God will not let His Word "return empty." Instead, it will "achieve the purpose" for which He sent it.

There have been other times over the years I have quoted this scripture, believing God to keep His word.

Should you choose to believe Him, He can do it for you, too.

Peaceful Sleep

PEACEFUL SLEEP

To me, the words peace and sleep go together. In my lifetime, I've had my share of sleepless nights, even restless nights. Sometimes it was due to a physical condition. Other times it was due to stress of some kind. One scary night I discovered a helpful solution.


It was after midnight when I heard angry voices in the street outside my bedroom window. My husband had taken a part-time job with a custodial service, and it was my first time to be home alone until early morning.

We were living in a church parsonage in Phoenix, Arizona. There was a driveway between the house and the church that led to a parking lot in back. This made the house feel more public than private to me.

I got up carefully and pulled the curtains back to peek out the window. The shouting continued, then the car door opened and a woman was pushed out. As the car sped off, she gained her balance. Then she started walking in the same direction as the car.

What's Happening Out There?

I found this unsettling as an observer. In our family, you might argue but never shout, and physical abuse was not in any way an issue. Having never had children I was used to being alone at night when my husband was busy with ministry. But having him gone on an all-night job was different from seeing him walk in the door at nine-thirty or ten o'clock after a church event.

When he worked, I would stay up as late as I could, then go to bed hoping to fall asleep. But sleep eluded me. It was nice to have a streetlight outside, but still I was very uneasy alone.

Psalm 23 was a favorite chapter in the Bible, but I didn't feel it was exactly what I needed. I wondered if I could find a scripture that applied specifically to sleep.

I Found a "Keeper!
My Bible's small concordance did not list many scriptures, but I found exactly what I needed in Psalm 4:8 (KJV): "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety." Later I found it just as comforting in more modern translations.

Psalm 4:8 (NIV)In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Here was the promise of two things I needed: Peace and Sleep! I wrote the verse down and started to memorize it. Every night as I went to bed, I would quote this scripture and turn my fears over to God.

I believed He would keep His word. My faith was based on an ancient scripture that says God will not let His word "return empty." He will make sure it achieves its intended purpose (Isaiah 55:11).

Over the years, there have been other times and places I have needed to quote that scripture to get a good night's rest. I'm happy to report that I have shared this verse many times, and I'm not the only one who has applied it by faith and found it true.

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