Today's Daily Bread

 

 

                                                                                

Sweet Rest

January 14, 2014 — by David C. Egner

Our Daily Bread 

 

 

Read: Psalm 4

You have put gladness in my heart. —Psalm 4:7

 

 

Bible in a Year:
Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20

Try as we might—tossing, turning, fluffing the pillow, pounding the pillow—sometimes we just can’t fall asleep. After offering some good suggestions on how to get a better night’s sleep, a news article concluded that there really is no “right way” to sleep.

There are numerous reasons why sleep eludes us, many of which we can’t do much about. But sometimes unwanted wakefulness is caused by anxious thoughts, worry, or guilt. It’s then that the example of David in Psalm 4 can help. He called out to God, asking for mercy and for God to hear his prayer (v.1). He also reminded himself that the Lord does hear him when he calls on Him (v.3). David encourages us: “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still” (v.4). Focusing our minds on the goodness, mercy, and love of God for His world, our loved ones, and ourselves can aid us in trusting the Lord (v.5).

The Lord desires to help us set aside our worries about finding solutions to our problems and place our trust in Him to work things out. He can “put gladness” in our hearts (v.7), so that we might “lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make [us] dwell in safety” (v.8).

Give me a spirit of peace, dear Lord,
Midst the storms and the tempests that roll,
That I may find rest and quiet within,
A calm buried deep in my soul. —Dawe

 

 

Even when we cannot sleep, God can give us rest.

Insight

The Bible is not an unrealistic book, for it expresses the full range of human experience. Yet the negative is often accompanied by a redeeming faith in God that helped the writers to endure trials and strengthened their character—and it does the same for us today. This psalm by King David is animated with a variety of life experiences. He takes both the good and the bad and projects them heavenward to God in prayer. He writes: “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (v.8). The peace available to us in God quiets us in a way that the world does not understand or enjoy.