Is Fear Keeping You From Sleeping?

If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands ...I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land.  Leviticus 26:3, 6

Peace, peace wonderful peace. A peace that allows me to rest, just as David expressed in a Psalm that he wrote about trusting God.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. Psalm 4:8

Trusting God is really what it is all about. He has promised to keep the enemies and scary wild animals away. There was a cougar spotted only a few miles from my home last winter and another one down by the Columbia River this summer. The animal didn’t harm anyone…but it was likely very hungry as all the rabbits it customarily ate were hiding from the blustery weather or smoky conditions. I’ve personally seen coyotes nearby three times in the last twenty years, but I’m not losing any sleep over having these animals in our vicinity. I worry more that they will get hit by a car and killed. Then how will the mouse population be controlled? There is an ecological balance when we have natural predators. Balance gives peace—no fear—but does it give you restful sleep? Trusting in the Lord gives peace and fearless sleep. Ezekiel commented about living and sleeping securely when he wrote about a new covenant, the millennial kingdom and the Messiah.

I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. Ezekiel 34:25 NASB

I’m not sure how many people really like to “sleep in the woods” but that is a favorite of mine. There is nothing like sleeping and waking under tall pine or fir trees, hearing the wind through their branches, and smelling the fresh mountain air. Add in a babbling brook and you have a recipe for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Mt. Rainier Fog

My hubby and I took a road trip up to the mountains last fall—all the way to Mt. Rainier National Park. Mt. Rainier was fogged in—wrapped itself in a cloud. A mountain of that size, 14,411 feet high, creates its own weather. A friend of mine used to say that fog made her feel like Jesus was wrapping His arms around her. We certainly felt that presence of Jesus on our road trip. Being out in the wilderness reminds me of another depth of God’s creation. You can see God’s creation in the produce at the market, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, in newborn babies and in the stars in the night sky. But the quietness of a vast wilderness experience whether it is in the mountains, desert, or seashore provides another dimension of God’s creativity. Can you find His peace there? Can you find His peace in your heart no matter where you are? Do you have His peace to give you a restful night’s sleep?

Prayer ~ Lord God, provide me with a new revelation of your peace in my life so that I will lie down and sleep well, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.  

Daily Bible Reading: Zechariah 10-14

© 2018 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

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