Amelia has never been a great sleeper but at two, her inconsolable acid hours gravitated from evenings to mornings. You just never know whether she will wake all smiles, thoroughly rested and ready for the day or refuse breakfast with wails and sobs that defy consolation. Some mornings she just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. It happens to all of us eventually. It may have been something you ate, as Dickens phrased so perfectly in his Christmas Carol where Scrooge tries to explain away Marley’s ghost by labeling it indigestion.
“Because,” said Scrooge, “a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potatoe. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!” (https://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/dickens/ChristmasCarol/15)
Maybe you were too angsty or preoccupied to sleep. Perhaps something weighed heavily on your mind, something like a test or procedure or a sick or traveling or absent family member. Maybe someone’s snoring or arguing or wakefulness kept you from slumber. You could even have felt too excited like the proverbial kid before Christmas to sleep. An uncomfortable pillow or mattress, being too hot or too cold, having a new baby- so many things can disturb our rest and cause us to wake out of sorts. I, more than anything, desire to rest in the Lord.
“In peace I will lie down and sleep.
Lord, you alone keep me safe.”
Psalm 4:8 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/psa.4.8.NIRV
For this reason, I’ve decided to renew a practice that originated with two of the arguably most difficult seasons of my life to date, my younger son’s brain surgeries and my own bout with cancer. Both seasons seemed to drag on forever and sleep was understandably illusive. Many wakeful hours, I spent in prayer, talking to my Heavenly Father about all the things that felt out of control. In those hours, His comforting Spirit brought me to a place of peace beyond reckoning, reminding me that when I take Him at His Word, I readily praise Him for who He is and thank Him for His faithfulness.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.
When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation!
For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you.
Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.
We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
And you are helping us by praying for us.
Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 6-7, 9, 11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.1.3-11.NLT
Paul and his companions faced many life-threatening situations during their missionary journeys. His letters attest to His confidence in God who called him and sent him as a light to the non-Jews of his day. His knowledge of the faithful One buoyed him. When we know Jesus as Savior and Lord, when His commission rests on us, we begin to see our own trials in a different light. We are given opportunities to testify to the work of Christ on the cross in every situation. Even faced with death, we pray, enlisting others to pray, God graciously answers prayer, and many give thanks. In this prayerful surrender, this acknowledgment of our faith and trust in Christ, we find His peace.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.4.6-7.NLT
Taken one step further, my attitude and outlook is changed. I am no longer tempted to give in to morose thinking. I no longer resign myself to my perceived fate. I lift my eyes heavenward, confident that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion, no matter what that work may be, and by the grace of God, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for God is with me. My name is written in the Book of Life and I do not fear death, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:6, Psalm 23:4, Luke 10:20, Philippians 1:21)
“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]”
Philippians 4:13 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/php.4.13.AMP
“I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance.
For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger.
And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.”
Philippians 4:12-13 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/php.4.12-13.TPT
My son, Jacob, has been seizure free for seven years since his brain surgeries and I am enjoying my third cancer free year. He recently shared with me how hearing a teaching on Paul’s often quoted verse, Philippians 4:13, changed his perspective on his own life. People claim all sorts of victories, saying, “I can do all things through Christ,” but translated, “I can suffer all things through Christ who gives me strength” is a more apt description of Paul’s original meaning. He penned these words from a Roman jail. He was likely chained to a Roman soldier, far from home and family, facing his own death. He elaborated on a life of knowing fullness and hunger, having more than he could need or want and having nothing but his life. He wrote of finding contentment in all circumstances. The things he once boasted in- being a Jew, a Pharisee, zealous for God’s law to the point of attacking the early church became nothing to him. His testimony after meeting Jesus became, “I once was blind but now I see.”
“I thought things like that were really something great. But now I consider them to be nothing because of Christ.
Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
To know him is worth much more than anything else.
Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can know Christ better.
I want to know Christ better. Yes, I want to know the power that raised him from the dead.
I want to join him in his sufferings.
I want to become like him by sharing in his death.
Then by God’s grace I will rise from the dead.
I have not yet received all these things. I have not yet reached my goal.
Christ Jesus took hold of me so that I could reach that goal. So I keep pushing myself forward to reach it.
Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do.
I forget what is behind me.
I push hard toward what is ahead of me.
I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize.
God has appointed me to win it.
The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.”
Philippians 3:7-8, 10-14 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/php.3.12.NIRV
“Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as his beloved sons and daughters.
And continue to walk surrendered to the extravagant love of Christ, for he surrendered his life as a sacrifice for us.
His great love for us was pleasing to God, like an aroma of adoration—a sweet healing fragrance.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/eph.5.1-2.TPT
“Now you must continue to make this new life fully manifested as you live in the holy awe of God—which brings you trembling into his presence.
God will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:12-13 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/php.2.12-13.TPT
“Throughout the coming ages we will be the visible display of the infinite riches of his grace and kindness, which was showered upon us in Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 2:7 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/eph.2.7.TPT
“My prayers for you are full of praise to God as I give him thanks for you with great joy!
I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Philippians 1:3-4, 6 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/php.1.3-6.TPT
“Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves.
For then you will be seen as innocent, faultless, and pure children of God, even though you live in the midst of a brutal and perverse culture.
For you will appear among them as shining lights in the universe, holding out the words of eternal life.”
Philippians 2:14-16 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/php.2.14-16.TPT
“When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place.
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet.
So you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have given you an example.
You should do as I have done for you.
Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.”
John 13:12, 14-15, 17 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/jhn.13.12-17.NIRV
Blessing comes through obedience. There is no way around it. God cannot bless what we do not surrender. I can ask Him all day and all night for what I want but His Word says, “God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) So I choose to thank Him for what He is already doing. (Philippians 2:13) I will praise Him for His sovereignty, confident that He is carrying out His purpose amid the confusion.
“So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby— then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.”
Psalms 3:5 TPT
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