Dear
Friends,
I seldom have a problem falling asleep. I can get in bed, roll over and I
am asleep in a minute. But last night I woke up in the middle of the night and
try and I could I wasn’t able to get back to sleep.
Unable
to sleep, I grabbed my iPhone and began scrolling through my screen. In the
process I saw a site that offered the promise of sleep. It was a U tube app.
with spoken bible verses.
I
thought to myself I’m sure there have been plenty of people who have fallen
asleep listening to my preaching or dozed off during lengthy readings of
scripture.
I
recalled Eutychus in the Bible, (Acts 20:7-12) who drifted off during a long
discourse by Paul and fell from a window (talk about embarrassing moments). But
falling asleep in bed while listening to the bible, sounded a lot less
hazardous while at the same time it offered the possibility of being much more
spiritually enriching.
I
honestly didn’t think much of anything would enable me to get back to sleep,
but I thought I would give it a try, so I clicked on the app. and immediately I
heard a soft and mellow voice reading one of my favorite memory verses,
Philippians 4:6-7.
“Do not
be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace or God which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”
Next, I remember hearing a couple of Psalms and then mid-way through the
Beatitudes, I was completely out, and when I awoke 3 hours later, I wondered
how this all had happened.
It is no surprise that in todays’ anxiety filled world, some struggle to
get a good night’s sleep. Sleep can easily evade our restless minds, but what
better way to calm the spirit and hasten restfulness than filling our mind and
soul with the word of God.
I confess I doubted that listening to this app. would put me to sleep so
quickly, but it did, and in the interval between clicking on the site and
nodding off, I was able to fill my soul with God’s word and what better way to
fill a restless heart than that.
Those of you who are much further along spiritually than I am, and who
know the benefits of technology far better than I do, are probably laughing,
and thinking I have been falling asleep like this for years. But for any of you
who like me haven’t caught up to the fact that technology can be a blessing,
and not always a curse, I encourage you to give it a try.
I know
this message is not real profound, and some may wonder why I would take the
time to discuss something like sleep, but how quickly we fall asleep could be a
gauge revealing how deeply we trust in God.
One wise
pastor said from his pulpit, “I work two shifts and I give God the third
shift.” The point he was trying to make was not that he didn’t trust God during
the day, but that God was powerful enough to handle everything while he slept.
The Psalmist reminds us that “in peace I will both lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). These are
good words to remember for those of us who might lie awake in the middle of the
night.
Yours in faith and friendship,
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