Night Fear

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me.

Psalm 42:8

Research shows that newborn babies have no fear of the dark. After all, they’ve just spent nine months in the darkness of the womb. We put night-lights in the nursery so we can see our babies, not so they’ll be unafraid. But a strange thing happens as we start growing. Many children develop night fears, imagining creatures outside their windows or monsters under their beds. As we age, those nighttime fears become more sophisticated. Many of us struggle every night with letting go of our worries so we can sleep.

Listen to what the psalmist writes: “The day is Yours, the night also is Yours. . . . He who keeps [you] shall neither slumber nor sleep. . . . I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. . . . You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. . . . I meditate on You in the night watches. . . . He gives His beloved sleep” (Psalm 74:16; 121:4; 4:8; 18:28; 63:6; 127:2).

As C. H. Spurgeon said: “They slumber sweetly whom faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a promise.”

If the Lord’s going to stay awake all night, I’m going to sleep! There’s no use in us both staying up!

ANONYMOUS