I am sharing an older writing today that showed up as a facebook memory from 2015. I can't even remember what the issue was that prompted all of my late night worry. I didn't edit it or rework it. I left it in raw form because it impacted me today when I re-read it. When something blesses me that I've written, it basically assures me it was God, not me talking :)
"Longing for Calm" prints can be ordered off my website. Be blessed today!
Amanda
Do you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep? I didn't until I started getting pregnant, and have struggled off and on with it ever since. So I decided I would pray when it happened. One night I vividly remember saying 'God, seriously I'm so tired. Why cant I just go back to sleep'. And I heard in my spirit "if you prayed more during the day I wouldn't have to wake you up"....I just love him. I MAY have laughed so much I woke Brad up....Anyway, it has been a summer....If you follow me much at all, you see my family is just in chaos. Most days, I just feel like I'm putting out fires, dealing with the most immediate, not at all intentional...I think some people could benefit from this snippet from my journal....
Last night around 3:30 I woke up. I felt lead to kneel and pray....to get out of my comfy warm bed. To kneel in a cold room...be uncomfortable...and be still. Ask for nothing but You. Ask You to speak, whenever, whatever. Then I tried to be quiet...SOOOOOO hard....
Scripture came to my mind first. 1 Kings 19:9-14. Elijah was literally running for his life. And God told him to go to a mountain, that He was going to pass by. There, Elijah learned that You aren't the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. You are the still small voice. Which I WILL MISS if I live in the chaos of the other three. Which I do. So many times. I get so overwhelmed by the wind I go to batten down the hatches, then an earthquake shakes up all I just secured, then fire comes and jacks it all up. Who has energy to be still and listen when everything is coming apart, right?? Because that is where YOU are. that is where salvation, redemption, obedience, and surrender hang out.
You know what happens when I obey? When I decide that instead of dealing with the chaos--which is where GOD IS NOT, I meet Him in the quiet, where I can hear His voice. It is in that quiet that my soul finds rest. The priorities become more clear, I regain focus. My life has not changed. The next morning there is still chaos. But I have. I handle it differently because God is a father of order.
Hope this blesses you today! Sleep is a small sacrifice to make in exchange for peace that passes understanding. If you have time for a treasure hunt, go read Mark 4:35-41 to see how Jesus handled chaos. Spoiler alert: He slept right through it.