Fresh Manna 2009© by Pastor Tim Burt
Proverbs 3:24 “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
When I was a young boy (*** through teenage years) I was an insomniac. It seemed as though it would be the middle of the night before I would fall asleep. And then, as I’m sure everyone has experienced at some point, when I wasn’t falling asleep, I’d begin to worry about the sleep I wasn’t getting only making it more difficult yet to sleep. I would often wake up exhausted at the sound of the alarm; not how anyone should start their day!
As years went by, insomnia was what led me to a drinking and drug addiction. When I did these things I could fall asleep at night. At the age of 24 (after four years of addiction) someone shared the love of Jesus with me and asked if I would like to invite Him into my heart, receiving Him as my Lord and Savior. I did and my world changed. Soon, the alcohol and drugs were out of my life and yet I slept like a baby! I had read from
Proverbs 3:24 “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Although I was a young Christian and knew little yet about the Bible, this verse rocked my world and I believed it. It was a new era in my life.
Over time responsibilities, cares, and worries began to fill my thoughts. Because Renee and I would lie in bed and talk at night, we naturally talked about some of the things that created these cares and worries. My mind would begin to race and hinder my sleep and then the fear of insomnia would even begin to creep in. I knew this wasn’t God’s plan. He had said, “When you lie down, you will not be afraid…” That is what these cares and worries and fear of insomnia tried to create: fear! It made me mad… mad at the devil. He wasn’t going to rob my life of something that was so natural (sweet sleep) and such a precious gift from God after all these years.
I began to pray about it. The Lord began to answer. He would take me to
2 Cor. 10:4-5 and I knew it was my answer.
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
The Lord spoke to me through this verse and others saying, “Tim, your mind and thoughts belong to you, not the devil. I haven’t given you the spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. You take control of your mind and what isn’t of me, cast down.” That was the most radical thing I had ever heard. I did what the Lord said. I made the decision that I was going to turn off my mind when I went to bed. I would stop myself from thinking about anything. I’d cast down thoughts and think, “Shut up devil. Worries aren’t from God and He cares for me. I rebuke these thoughts and you in Jesus name.” Over time, I learn to shut my mind off and if you asked Renee today, she’d tell you that my average time to fall asleep is about 8-15 seconds.
I know we have things of concern to think about. But I refuse to bring them to bed. Why and how could I do that when I had serious issues to be concerned about? Because following those verses about sweet sleep were these promises from God to strengthen me.
Proverbs 3:25-26 “Do not be afraid of sudden disaster or terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.”
I went to bed casting down the worries and instead praying and thanking God that I didn’t have to be afraid; that He was my help and confidence and that everything could wait till morning.
The promises of God are to be received, believed, and taken hold of in our life. This is one I did for the first quarter of my life and it almost destroyed me. I thank God for this and all His promises as they are yea and Amen!
In His Love,
Pastor Tim
Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2009 Tim Burt, All rights reserved.
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