I woke up this morning with a heart as gloomy as the rain outside. I didn’t dread the day, nor did I merely “wake up on the wrong side of the bed.” Rather, the emotions from a night of dreams clung to my mind, overshadowing the new day.
With resignation, I fixed the children breakfast and shuffled my oldest off to school. Maybe, I thought, the clouds will clear outside, and the fog of my heart will also lift.
Midmorning, I sat down with my prayer book, The Valley of Vision, and opened to the puppy-eared page, the prayer entitled, “Peril.” As always, the beauty of these puritan prayers touched my writer’s heart. And then I reached this line:
I was convicted about my resignation to accept the heaviness. God designed sleep to be a blessing. Not only do we need it, but He uses it to speak to us (Genesis 28; Matthew 1), heal us, give us rest.
Sleep reminds us that we are not all knowing, all powerful, all present. We are limited and broken, unable to toil our way to salvation. “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2)
How appropriate that God uses the metaphor of Sabbath rest when speaking of salvation (Hebrews 4).
And yet, there is something about sleep that leaves us exposed to the attack of the enemy. There is a vulnerability that descends on our hearts and minds as we let go of consciousness and enter the state of sleep. How are we to respond, to pray, when our sleep is being harassed and we are not experiencing the blessing of it?
I have no answers, but I do have promises:
To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. (Psalm 3:4-6)
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. (Proverbs 3:21-24)
My friends, whether you awake in a dream-stupor, or lose sleep to anxiety, stress, depression, or fear, cling to the promises. Whether your night is literal, or a figurative season of struggle, may you know his joy in the morning.
I have frequent disturbing dreams. Often, it seems, that they occur when I think that I’m getting closer to the Lord. These nightmares leave a fog over my days and a nagging fear in the back of my mind. I pray that God will protect me and place a wall of protection around me. Many times I feel that these distressing dreams are attacks from Satan which come to distract me and cause me to focus on things other than Jesus. My strength and shield is my Saviour, especially during attack.
Wow, Dawn. I didn’t know that. Sorry to hear about that. We’ll have to pray for each other about our dreams. Jesus is a great shield!
Thank you, I needed to read that. Sleep is one of my HUGEST struggles, and makes the rest of life difficult. I don’t sleep well at all no matter what I do and at some points in time I have nightmares so bad they’re almost like night terrors. I haven’t had one for a little while though. They seem to happen when I’m under the most stress or fearful of something.
Thanks for sharing, Jana. I’ll be praying for you.