WORRY? I'M GOING TO SLEEP!

So many times as I read the Word of God, my inadequacies become glaring obvious.  As I read of the perseverance of the “Heroes of Faith,” I find my own steadfastness sorely lacking.  Then as I begin to dig a little deeper and study a little more, I begin to understand they were all imperfect people just like me and together we serve a PERFECT GOD, who is ready to reach down, wrap His everlasting arms around us, set us on a solid rock and is always faithful.   David is such a wonderful example of an imperfect servant of our perfect God and wasn’t afraid to reveal all of his wart, bumps, bruises and scars.  He understood life wasn’t really about his failures but about God’s faithfulness.

In Psalms 3:1-2, David writes, “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.  ² Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Have you ever felt like David?  I have.  Sometimes it seems that you don’t have a friend in the world that really believes in you.  David’s adversaries didn’t even believe that God would come through for him.  Makes you just want to shrivel up and die, doesn’t it?  But David doesn’t stop there, because he had a faith in God and a history with God that could lift him above what anyone thought or was saying about him.  In verse 3, David refutes everything his enemies are bringing against him; “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.”  David wasn’t king because of his strength, military prowess or even by birth, it was God who had positioned him to be king, God who “lifted his head” and all the glory belonged to God.  Rise up against him; say whatever you think, David was confident in the relationship that existed between him and God.

 You see, to David it wasn’t just KNOWLEDGE that God was faithful; it was a deeply rooted truth, he had experienced from his youth.  What did David do with this knowledge?  Verse 5 tells us, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.”  Don’t you just love it?  As Alfred E. Neuman puts it, “What, me Worry?”  With his knowledge and confidence in God’s faithfulness, David took his worries and fears, put them in the Lord’s capable hands and went to sleep. 

Oh to have that kind of faith and assurance that “If God is for me, who can be against me.”  Most times we pull  out all the darts Satan is throwing at us, ask God for help, try to figure out how to soothe the wounds and then wait for the perfect opportunity to throw the darts right back.  If it feels like everything is against you and there is a widespread belief that even God can’t come through for you on this one, reach way back and pull out your history.  God hasn’t changed!!! Just as He has many times before, He will come through for you.  He is your Shield, your Glory, and the Lifter of Your Head.  Step 2…Lay down; go to sleep and wake up refreshed for the Lord will sustain you.  Be confident in God’s great love and the relationship you have built with Him.  Along with David you can say, “Worry?  I’m going to sleep!”