A peaceful sleep

For you alone O Lord make me dwell in safety - Psalm 4.8

This is one of my favourite memory verses, not least because I quite often have trouble sleeping. Sometimes it is just because my mind is buzzing (especially after a PCC!). Other times it is because worries start crowding in on my mind. 

There is something about the silence, stillness and darkness, that seem to give my worries the confidence to come out of hiding. The fact that my mind has rested from its task focus, allows it to drift on to thinking about the future. That's when my worries seize the initiative. It can feel like my brain has been hacked and unwanted thoughts won't go away.

That is when I use this verse. It is my weapon to seize back control of my mind from my anxieties - to obey the Spirit's command - "Do not by anxious about anything" Philippians 4.6. Sometimes it is enough simply to recite it over and over again until I drift off to sleep. Sometimes I need to start mining its truth. I start with the 'For you alone, O Lord' and confess all of the other things to which I have looked, for safety or comfort; the idols in which I have put my trust . Those idols might be my own ability, the help of others or distractions such as tv or games.

I then thank God for those aspects of his character which ensure my safety: His faithfulness, power, all-knowingness, goodness, love, presence with me. I then thank him for the number 1 time when all of his character was shown in all its glory - the cross and resurrection.

I don't always immediately drift off to sleep, but I am nearly always struck with a deep peace. More than that, I know that I have been part of God's victory over the world, the flesh and the devil in my life. My sleeplessness moves from being a frustration to being a triumph.