when deep sleep falls on men,
fear and trembling seized me
and made all my bones shake. (Job 4: 13-14)
Ever heard something described as "arresting"? The first time I read this passage, especially the first line, it stopped me on the page and held me there. Amid disquieting dreams in the night . . . Apparently, humankind has been tossing and turning for a very long time. I thought of those words when I read a Facebook post from my cousin, who's going through chemotherapy right now. She said it was starting to affect her mentally, making her agitated and fearful. I think the words she used were "it's making me worry about silly things." If I had a nickel for every sleepless night I've spent tossing and turning and worrying and fretting about things over which I had zero control, well, let's just say Dave and I would be retired on the Gulf Coast right now, kicked back on the porch of our beach house. Everybody worries, I guess—I know I do—sometimes about silly things, sometimes about not-so-silly things. We can think of all kinds of reasons to worry. But the Bible gives us all kinds of reasons not to. Whether your own disquieting dreams come from illness or worry or sorrow or fear . . .
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
the King James):
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper:
the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Psalm 121
thank you for this post, I am a big fan of this website would like to go on updated.
Posted by: laura | February 01, 2013 at 08:24 AM
Thanks so much, Laura. There should be an email subscribe option on the home page. If you don't see it, just let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks again!
Posted by: Valerie | February 01, 2013 at 03:09 PM