He who keeps you will not slumber… He who keeps you, Israel, will neither slumber nor sleep – Psalm 121:3,4
God stays up all night on guard, so why I do not submit to sleep more readily?
When I was little, sometimes I didn’t want to go to sleep lest I miss something. Curiosity wanted to see everything. To sleep would be an act of surrendering my desire to know more, to be included, to be a part of activity.
Sometimes now I stay up not wanting to relinquish consciousness– A variety of inner demons want to keep me awake… they whisper I should finish a program or project, see the weather report, answer emails, watch YouTube, read Face Book, clean house, plan my days, shop on Amazon…
I may seek sleep, but worry or regret or fear or responsibility or body issues like arthritic pain or a cranky digestive system can keep me from the restoring sleep I actually desire. Sometimes sleep just eludes me!
But I do love it when I am in a still, quiet position of surrender and sleep comes. It is peaceful. The demons lose their edge. I rest secure.
God, the LORD, keep my going out and coming in, my going to sleep and my awaking.
(c) 2015 Nancy Kate Dunkerley