Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Do you ever lie awake at night, unable to sleep? If so, use that time as an opportunity to pray. The Bible says that God "visits us in the night" (Psalm 17:3). Your best Friend! So, have a meeting with Him. "In the night His song shall be with" you (42:8). In the hours of darkness is a good time to "call to remembrance" the history of His many kindnesses to you (see 77:6). As a youth, Jesus says, "I remember Your name in the night, O Lord" (119:55). It's a time of joyous communion, for "even the night shall be light about me. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; ... Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well" (139:11, 12, 14). "Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still" (4:4).
If you're awake at night and can't sleep, it's also an excellent time to confess your mistakes and selfishness to the Lord. After his sin with Bathsheba, David could not sleep. "Day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; ... I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin." Then David goes on to say that this is the way to peace of heart for all of us (32:4-7).
It's always in mercy that the Lord "visits" us at night; He doesn't want to hurt us; He wants only to save us from ourselves. Let the tears of contrition come, if the Holy Spirit touches your heart. On one occasion David said, "Day and night I cry, and tears are my only food" (42:3, Good News Bible). A visit with your Savior at night will turn into joy on the morrow. "His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (30:5).
Empty, thoughtless smiles are superficial "Christian experience," and you are soon floundering in a sea of trouble over your head. But these tears of repentance in your "visits" with the Lord at night become a solid foundation of lasting peace of heart. Then nothing can faze you in any "daytime."
This hors d'oeuvre of spiritual nourishment has been a little chat with David. It's Good News: learn not to waste your nights! "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy" (126:5). You can have a genuine "Christian experience."
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 7, 1999.
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