When I can’t SLEEP!!!
Sometimes I wake up and can’t go back to sleep because, well, because I’m getting old. I’ve heard that happens to people when they get old…which is slowly happening to me.
Sometimes, like recently, I wake up and can’t go back to sleep because I have “things” on my mind. They concern me, or scare me, and I worry about what will happen if they come true. Looking back, that most often never happens. Proof that worry really is a waste of time.
Years ago I made the decision that I would not lie in bed if I was clearly wide awake or, worse, being harassed by the enemy with every conceivable problem scenario he could poke me with.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. 1
So, I began to go and sit, right there at my table, at all hours of the night. It was like a safe zone. Whatever woke me up couldn’t follow me there. Almost like “it” wasn’t allowed there. Only I was.
Mostly, I would just sit and listen. Sometimes, I would read, and sometimes I would write, but both of those things came later. In the beginning, I just sat there.
I sat there because it was Peaceful, or Peace-filled. Peaceful like I couldn’t find anywhere else or at any other time. It was on a level I had never found or known before. So, I began going back for more, and not just at night, but anytime.
I am always with you and I will give you rest. 2
That table has become a safe haven for me. Not because of what it is…it’s just a table…but because of Who I meet when I sit down there. God, The Almighty, I Am, The Creator of The Universe.
Truth is, He is there before I ever sit down. He calls me to safety on a sleepless night. He tells me to relax and just breathe on a chaotic day. He asks me to sit with Him on an easy day and just fellowship for a while. He is always…right there. 3
Spiritual warfare is real. God is real, and so is the enemy. This is why when I can’t sleep, can’t relax, feel weary, burdened, or so anxious I can’t breathe, and sometimes for no reason at all …you’ll find me there.
Get In The Boat! Do Your Part!
From Nose to Toes!
Shane
Shane Hale is a redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at http://www.the1sixproject.com.
Footnotes: (1) Read John 14:27. (2) Read Matthew 11:28-30. (3) Read Isaiah 41:10 and Matthew 28:20b.
Pictures: Banner: My Table, photo by Shane Hale. (1) My Table, close up of the photo by Shane Hale. (2) I Am Always With You, 1983, creator unknown, from “I Am Always With You”, a blog by Simon Hudson, Minister of Wallingford Baptist Church, Wallingford, UK, acts2020.wordpress.com.
