peace & sleep & safety

Psalm 4:8 I will lie down in peace & sleep,
   for You alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.


There are so many people I know who don't sleep well, or don't don't sleep very much.

There was a period in my life when I didn't sleep well. I'd get into bed & lie awake for hours, what if-ing, or second guessing, or covering my fanny, or whatever thinking about crazy, awful stuff might be going on at the time. If I did go to sleep, I wake up a little later & do the same thing over again.

Yeah, those were fun years.

Now, Lynn (my wife) laughs at me. If I stretch out good, I'll be asleep in 5 minutes.

So, how does that happen?

God has given me peace.

He took me out of that terrible place of stress, abuse, uncertainty, & frustration.

But mostly, I think He started dealing with my defining issues. It took Him about 12 years, but He did it.

How did He do that? He'd relentlessly continue to point them out.

He never condemned me. It was like He was just standing there, quietly, firmly, uncompromisingly, lovingly (did I mention firmly?) pointing them out.

And for some reason, I let Him deal with them.

So, how'd that feel?

It hurt like hell. (maybe that's bc living with them was a kind of hell?)

But it was worth it.


That last phrase, for You alone, O Lord, will keep me safe, doesn't mean we won't be exposed to danger. I think it means He will keep us safe no matter what the level of danger is.

I have one son I call Lionheart because he has a heart of a lion. I think he's a risk taker, courageous, to the extent that he's always gonna be somewhere that's just at least a little dangerous. But he is so alive with a passion for God, & a desire to reach people that don't know Him, that as a result, he'll willingly go to the dangerous place, in his mind, in his relationships, in his reaching out to people, & the places he'll go. I'm not praying that he'll be kept from danger, but that God will keep him safe even in the midst of incredible danger.

That is what God has given us in this promise - not a promise of a tame, domesticated life, but one in which we can be confident that no matter what the circumstances - safe or dangerous - He will keep us.

I don't know who that last sentence is for besides me, but there ya have it ;-)