Tales of a Sleepless Night

   

    A sleepless night, I should have known would come after an energy drink and a coffee refill, but that was in the morning on a gray Saturday. The temptation to have just one more cup of warm coffee to go with the Gluten Free Banana bread as I soaked in the pleasant conversation with a friend seemed irresistible. But at 2 AM, 2:15 AM, 3:03 AM, 4:00 AM it seemed more foolish than ever.

    As I lay in bed trying to get comfortable, trying to shut off the mental list of to-do’s I thought of you. Me? You might think, and of course, it comes as a surprise I know. And though I tried to shake it, there you were. I prayed that God might help you, strengthen you, and give you hope.

    Life is so often full of curve balls, disappointments, and challenging circumstances but my prayer is that you will not give up. We have all heard sad stories of those who just gave in, but you my Dear are so special that God put you on my heart last night, or this morning, hang on.

    When we are at the point of wanting to throw in the towel, what holds us back? Certainly, there are people who care for us in the world, but in despair, it is hard to make a list of who they may be. I think if we would quiet our souls for a moment we would hear a still gentle voice. A voice that is somehow familiar yet profoundly unknown. That voice is the inflection of your destiny, it is the sound of rain and the crackle of a fire, it is the sound of a mighty wind, and clatter of thunder. It is the voice of our Creator God.

     Even when we would want to turn the other way His arms are wide open. His love is like a mountain of mercies He promises are new every morning. In the middle of the night when sleep eludes the morning seems far off, but His love is never distant.

    To make his love more clear the Creator God sent his son in our likeness. He gave this son an assignment to live on earth, to experience our pain, and to make a way for us to be free. This son is named Jesus Christ.

      There is a story found in the gospel of Mark chapter 9 about a Father who had a very troubled son. The story goes that the son was possessed by demons and would become violent and roll himself into the fire. As the last hope, his Father brought him to Jesus. As a crowd gathered to see what would happen Jesus asked the man what was wrong.

    The man explained the long history of trauma and added, “If you are able to help please have compassion and do something for him.”

Jesus look at him, “If I can? Everything is possible for him who believes”

    Brokenly the Father exclaimed, “ Lord I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.”   

     As I write this you may be saying, I know about Jesus. Tell me something I don’t know. As I laid in bed I heard the word “Belief.”  If we just say we believe but we don’t really let it change our lives the thing we would say we know is nothing more than a beautiful green leaf that turns brown and falls to the ground when the bitter winds blow. Such thought is more “Be-leafing” than believing.

    As I thought of you I began to pray, Oh Lord help our unbelief. Sometimes we say we know something but it doesn’t really mean we believe it in a way that changes anything in our lives. So I thought if I were to switch the letters around to read “Be-life” I think this is a better way to picture a believing that turns the situation around.

The fact is fear keeps us back from truly believing that God has a plan for our lives. It holds us back from experiencing freedom through faith in Jesus Christ. But fear no longer has to have a hold on you.

As you awake this morning open up the curtains. Let the sun shine in, and welcome God into your day. Dear friend, know that during my sleepless night I was thinking and praying for you. You can do this thing! Don’t give up. Challenge yourself to believe God really is for you.