Sleepless Nights

Don’t you just hate when you start that uncomfortable toss and turn in the middle of the night only to find that no matter which way you turn there is no way you are going back to sleep.

YEA! Those sleepless nights, I tell ya!

Maybe it’s issues, maybe it’s business, maybe it’s stress, maybe it’s contemplations, maybe it’s work that has to get done, maybe it’s excitement for what’s to come… in any case how do we fight those sleepless nights? Because we really do need adequate rest to function effectively!

So much to do during the holidays to finalize and tie up loose ends. It is work, work and more work. I want to rest but my mind is fully alert and ready to keep moving. I know God has a plan that is bigger than me…

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
Psalm 3:5-6 New International Version

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8 New International Version

I know I need this sleep! Help me Lord to get it. I realize that many times this could be that calling for prayer… just like He woke Samuel the boy to do something, is perhaps the same way that He is seeking us out!

So we say, “HERE I AM!”

Guidance is essential!

Thank God for that one that was able to point the way at least for that divine moment. Eli after hearing the third time call, finally realized that it must be the Lord.

The LORD Calls Samuel

The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.
1 Samuel 3:1-11

This is such an amazing story of how the Lord sets up powerful and unforgettable encounters with His servants—no matter what the age is. All He needs is a response! Eli’s vision was growing dim and now God was going to use the next generation.

It is a good thing that God is PERSISTENT! Not once…twice…three times a charm! He called the fourth time and probably would have continued until it was the most pressing and obvious voice.

See when you say no…there is nothing else to do. But when you say, “YES, here I am” then God begins to do the most supernatural things in our midst. He takes the natural days and nights and turns them into divine appointments where destiny takes place. There is no mistaking. There is no confusion. There is no uncertainty… THE FOG clears up and now you know.

This is a good call…This is a God call!

In those sleepless nights we should wake and take that quiet time to talk to God wholeheartedly. Open up the pages of His word and find that place of comfort and serenity. He uses those opportunities so that we can be filled, prepared and now at ease for the days ahead. In the busiest days of all, there is a place where there is no interruption! Peace is found.

Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
Psalm 57:8

My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.
Psalm 119:148

There is a reason why you are up! Find that time most beneficial. Redeem it and seek the King! Even if you think because of those sleepless nights that you are missing out on valuable rest, watch God strengthen your soul like never before! You will be able to get through that day fully functional and able to embrace all that is to come. And when you come to realize what God does–it will shake the world and keep you so rooted in His arms.