Skip to main content

Saturday... Do you ever have those times when you can't sleep?


Saturday... Do you ever have those times when you just can't sleep? Something wakes you up and then all those thoughts, all those discouraging thoughts take over and you just can't get back to sleep? 

The writer of Psalm 77:4 (NLT) says, "You don't let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray!" I'm sure you have felt that way, haven't you? 

He goes on, verses 5-10, "I think of the good old days, long since ended. when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion. And I said, 'This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me'" Have you ever said that? Have you ever felt that? Now that is not going to lift our spirits. That is only going to take us deeper into our despair. But God understands us and He loves us. And He gives us the Psalms right in the middle of the Bible to show He understands. But He also shows us that we are not to stay there.

I have had in my background those times when I stayed there. Those were dark days. And when I start to dwell too long on those thoughts I stop and I say I can't go there, I won't go there. I have learned from experience that that isn't a great place to go. And spending time in the Psalms was what started me on the path of turning those times around.

Look at verses 11 & 12. See how he turns these times of despair around. He says, "But then" I love that. "But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works." 

If your thoughts can take you to dark places then they can also take you to great places and you have control of your thoughts. Yes, there is power in prayer but there is also power in praise and thanksgiving and that is where you and I need to first go in our prayer and then to our needs. There is great power in praise and thanksgiving, in remembering his wonderful deeds and thinking about His mighty works.

"But then I recall." Yes, yes! todaysbeginning 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...
Post a Comment
Read more