"What are You Sleeping On?"

It’s kind of funny how we change over the years.   Our perspectives on certain things change dramatically.  When I was 5 or 6 years old and I was told it was time to go to bed I used to hate that.  Who wants to go to bed?  Who wants to go to sleep.  Not many 5 year olds get excited about "bedtime".  But now I’m in my 50’s and bedtime is something I look forward to.  Now I like sleep, I need sleep, I spent big money to get a good mattress that will give me the best possible sleep.  I would like to think this change has come about because I am wiser now and see the value of sleep, but reality is this change has come about because I’m getting older.   Sleep is good..  To little sleep is unhealthy, to much sleep leads to laziness, but the right amount of sleep - priceless.  

People have a hard time sleeping sometimes.  One of the major factors is stress.  Their minds won’t shut down. There is to much to do, to much to think about , who has time to sleep.  Who will take care of things if I go to sleep? That’s a good question.  Do you have a theology that allows you to sleep?  Here is a great verse to memorize on those nights when sleep alludes you.

“Psalm 121:4  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Behold, he (God) who keeps Israel (you and I) will neither slumber nor sleep.  I don’t know about you but I find that very comforting.  God does not sleep, He does not need to sleep.  God never takes a break from watching over us.  He never takes a day off or hires an assistant or farms our keeping out to someone else.  He never sleeps, He who keeps you is always awake, so get some sleep.  He knows what’s going on in your life better than you do, so get some sleep.  

There is one other thing we need to consider as well.  Sometimes we think if we don't’ do something it won’t get done or when we go to sleep God’s work, or God's care for me comes to a standstill.  Please remember this important principle.  God is not in heaven pacing back and forth waiting for you and I to wakeup so he can start running the universe again.  God works even while we sleep.  God doesn’t panic every time we take a nap. God is sovereign, God is in control, God knows our frame and that we are dust, God knows we need sleep.  God is working all things for good while we are awake and when we are asleep.  God is keeping us when we wake, when we work, when we walk and even when we sleep.  God doesn’t need me to help Him keep the stars in their orbits, so get some sleep. 

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.”  Psalm 4:8

What a wonderful promise.  “You alone, O LORD, make be dwell in safety”  therefore I will both lie down and sleep.

We often lie down and worry, lie down in anger, lie down and pace back and forth in our minds, lie down and get discouraged, lie down and lament our circumstances, lie down and ask why me, lie down and stare at the ceiling etc.  

A good nights sleep is a gift from the LORD to his children who trust in His sovereign and loving care over them.  Cast all your care upon him for He cares for you and the one who cares for you never slumbers or sleeps.  

Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God…”  Is it not true to say also that without faith it is impossible to get a peaceful nights sleep.  Worship the Lord by trusting Him when you lay your head on your pillow at night.  Say thank- you for sleep, thank-you for keeping me, thank-you for saving me.  

What are you sleeping on? The greatest mattress in the world or the most powerful sleeping pill will never give you the rest David talks about in these verses. So lie down and go to sleep “for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."  Is who or what you are trusting in allowing you to sleep peacefully?  Maybe what you are sleeping on needs to be exchanged or re-examined.  When I trust in the LORD I can lie down and SLEEP peacefully and restfully knowing that the LORD alone will make me dwell in safety. Whether your 6 or 96 that is a wonderful promise to sleep on.

"Leaning, Leaning, Leaning on...?"

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

This is no doubt one of the most memorized verses in the Bible. Many a young person has claimed this as their life verse and rightfully so. It is the last part of that verse that I have been thinking about lately. And it has to do with the word "lean". I think to help understand what it means to lean you can change the words around a bit. Lean on the Lord with all your heart and do not trust in your own understanding. To lean on is to trust, to trust is to lean on.

Several years ago Karen and I had the opportunity to go to Italy and see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. People come from all over the world to see this leaning tower. I guess it is a good thing it is leaning because there are buildings all around it that are perfectly straight and no one pays any attention to them. I even walked up to the top of this tower and like Galileo (a real scientist) thought I would drop something off the building, like an apple, to see what I could discover. I discovered that the people on the ground apparently did not appreciate my quest for knowledge. (that is if hand signals mean anything.) Just think about it, here is a tower famous for one thing, it leans. But as you look at the tower and at pictures of this tower you notice something. It is leaning toward other buildings but it is not leaning on them and there is a very big difference.

As we think about our verse I think this helps us see what the writer is saying. Trusting God is not leaning toward Him, it is leaning on Him. To lean ON something or someone is to place our entire weight on them and without them we would fall flat on our face. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, is not an invitation to lean toward him. That is not trust. What is true in such cases is that we are leaning in the LORD's direction but are holding ourselves up .

What are some things people lean on?

• Lean on their own understanding
• Lean on their friends
• Lean on their education
  
• Lean on their jobs
• Lean on their bank accounts
• Lean on fame and popularity
• Lean on the government
• Lean on their success
  
• Lean on the economy
• Lean on pills
• Lean on the church
• Lean on doctors
• Lean on credit cards
  

The situation for many is that they are leaning toward God but in reality are trusting or leaning on these things to help them, sustain them, and meet their needs. And our prayers often reflect this. We pray and ask God to help all the things we are leaning on to come through for us. It is prayer directed toward God concerning the things we are really trusting in. "God please don't let these things let me down!" It is because of this that so many people are discouraged, anxious and confused in their Christian walk. They do not understand what it means to trust in (lean on) the Lord with ALL their heart.
Trusting God is not leaning in his direction - it is placing all of our weight, all our hopes and dreams, our family, all our needs on Him and if He does not come through we fall flat on our faces. There is no plan B. He is our everything, we are trusting in Him alone to sustain us. We are trusting in Him alone to save us. We are casting all of our care upon Him, trusting Him, leaning on Him. The good news is God promises to do just that. He cares for us. Do not look in God's direction on Sunday and spend the rest of the week leaning on your own understanding. God will never lead you astray, our own understanding will lead us astray every time. Remember, The Just shall live by Faith.

" Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path."
" My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19

Read Matthew 6:25-33 to see some wonderful promises God gives us about our everyday needs.

May we be found "Leaning, leaning, leaning on His Everlasting Arms"

Afraid of Bad News?

There cannot be a more disturbing sight for a parent than the first time you see your child pull out of your driveway in a car all by themselves. It’s disturbing for a number of reasons,
1. they are alone
2. they are driving YOUR CAR
3. we know first comes the car, then comes love, then comes marriage, then comes “your baby” pushing a baby carriage and on it goes.
As they move out from under our control to make their own decisions it can be a restless time for parents. As parents all of us dread that knock on the door in the middle of the night, or to pick up the phone and our child is on the other end and before any words are even said we know it’s bad news. Thankfully our God is an Awesome God, a Sovereign and Loving God. To those who fear him he gives a wonder promise in
Psalm 112:7. “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
God is telling us in this verse, All things work together for good, and all things includes bad news. God is at work, the God who is good and whose steadfast love endures forever gives us this peace producing promise. Hang this promise by your phone and thank Him for his grace and His powerful and purposeful love in your life as well as in the lives of your children. Trust in the Lord, we do not need to be afraid, so get some sleep. Our God is in control. Read Psalm 112:1-10