Tips to Sleep in Peace

Peaceful sleep sounds like some far off dream sometimes.

I have been having trouble sleeping lately.

Thoughts of being sick, concerns about finances, busyness of homeschooling, events at church, upcoming holidays, normal everyday activities like laundry and shopping… so much going on in my mind each day.

Now that we live overseas, these concerns have expanded in ways I never could have imagined.

Of course, I know to lay all of those things before the Lord.

I bring them to Him in prayer, knowing that I can cast all of my cares on Him.

Worrying about it all will do nothing.

I can trust my God to provide for all my needs.

But for some reason, even knowing all the right things to tell myself and to pray, my mind can still run out of control in the middle of the night and peaceful sleep can seem very far away.

You know what happens.

You wake up. You can’t get back to sleep. You think of one thing that leads to one more thing and all of the sudden, you are planning and replanning your week. You are writing things in your mental notebook and telling people things on your mental recorder.

Yeah. that kind of stuff.

Well, that has been happening over here… I can’t seem to shut my mind off.

I try but I can’t. My body forgets that it is night time and I’m supposed to be asleep, not trying to remember to buy so and so that last minute gift.

What a frustrating feeling!

As I laid in bed a few nights ago, my thoughts reeling in my head, I started thinking about needing a mind break. About needing peace. Thinking about peaceful sleep.

What I was feeling was NOT peace.

So, I started reminding myself about verses that I knew dealt with SLEEP and PEACE.

A few of my favorites are Psalm 3 and Isaiah 26.

Have you read them lately?

They says wonderful things like, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.” and “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” and “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You.” and “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is Rock eternal.”

Read those a few times over!

So, those verses were running through my mind and I knew I needed to refresh my mind by reading them again in scripture.

I got out my Bible this morning and do you know where my Bible fell open?

Not like, I just stuck my finger in to see where it would open, but where it just naturally falls open?

Isaiah 26.

I’d never noticed that before. My Bible automatically falls to that page. It has a break in the binding there. It has to open there. It will open there every time.

I realized, “That is where my Bible falls open… to verses about peace.”

So cool… then, I found a new phrase that I’d missed before. Isaiah 26:12 says, “Lord, you establish peace for us.”

God establishes peace for me!

I don’t have to try and manufacture peaceful sleep in my head by saying, “I’ve given it to the Lord.” or “I’ve prayed about it.” or “I know God will provide.”

I can’t make peaceful sleep happen for myself!

God is the provider of peace.

Peace that is real and true and right and, well… peaceful.

Sleep in heavenly peace? Peace on earth? God provides that to us! He establishes it in us.

He establishes it FOR us.

A new prayer to pray, “Lord, establish peace in MY MIND and MY HEART tonight.”

Do you need something from the Lord today?

Where does your Bible “fall open”?