(Please read Psalm 4)
Amid an armed rebellion, and with his life in danger, David was still able to sleep. Why?
David Prayed
David was able to sleep because he gave his problems to the Lord in prayer. God was the source of his salvation and had never failed him in the past. We too give our problems to the Lord. Unfortunately, we don’t always leave them there. Instead, worrying that God won’t hear and answer, we snatch our problems back.
When sleepless, our prayer should be similar to David’s: “O Lord, in undeserved grace You saved me when I could not save myself. Looking back on my life, I can’t name one time when You failed me. And I know You will not fail me now.”
A millennia after David, the apostle Paul made this same declaration in Romans 8:32, saying, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
The point is, if God loved you enough to give you Jesus, will He refuse you a loaf of bread, a change of clothes, a place to shelter, or the means to repair a struggling marriage? No. Give your problems to God and leave them with God. You’ll sleep in peace.
David Weighed
David also found sleep by weighing his enemies against God’s infinite power and love. In the privacy of his thoughts, he called out the opposition, essentially asking, “Who are you when compared to my God?”
When sleepless, we should weigh our opposition in the same way: “Financial trouble, who do you think you are? Sickness, who do you think you are? Loneliness, who do you think you are? You are NOTHING compared to the God Who loves me, hears me when I call, and has claimed me as His very own.”
Paul made this same comparison in Romans 8:31. He asked, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” What’s your answer? If your answer is NO ONE and NOTHING can be against us, turn out the light and go to sleep.
David Stayed
Few things cause more agitation and sleeplessness than anger. When angry, we roam through hallways at 2:00 A.M., bath-robed and bleary-eyed, nursing injuries and anger, and saying things like “I can’t believe she embarrassed me that way” or, “I can’t believe he treated me so badly.”
However, rather than nursing his anger, David rested his heart, mind, and faith on the Word of God. Instead of plotting revenge on those who betrayed him, he stayed in his bed, quietly meditating on how God would want him to behave.
For David, the antidote to angry sleeplessness was to put his trust in the Lord. If anger is keeping you up at night, don’t take matters into your own hands; place them into God’s hands. Instead of counting sheep, count on the Good Shepherd.
David Laid
Through prayer, weighing his problems, and resting his mind and heart on the Scriptures, David was able to lay his problems to rest and his head on the pillow. While others were saying, “Who will show us any good?” (Psalm 4:6), David expected only the best from God. Using words reminiscent of the Aaronic Benediction, David said, “Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.” And dear friend, if you go to bed each night knowing that Almighty God is smiling on you in the brightness of His grace, you’ll sleep in peace.
is a professor at Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
