Using those sleepless night

My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word. – Psalm 119v148

I am no stranger to insomnia. Sleepless nights can be a pretty regular occurrence for me. Anyone who has had those nights knows how frustrating they can be. You toss and turn and keep looking at the clock fretting about what time you have to get up. I get so bad that sometimes I wonder what time I can practically get out of bed. The worst thing is that the worse the insomnia gets the worse it gets. It is a terrible cycle.

A few years ago, during one of those nights, I began to wonder if there was a reason for my sleeplessness. Surely there must be a reason.

There are reasons of course. Sometimes it is stress. Sometimes it is anxiety. Sometimes it is big plans for the next day. Sometimes it is that scorcher pizza we ate.

But, apparently God has a purpose for some of those sleepless nights. David wrote – ‘My eyes are awake through the night, that I may meditate on Your word.’

Sometimes there is a real purpose for those nights. Sometimes God gives them to us to allow us a special opportunity to pause and reflect on His word. What better time to stop and spend time with the Lord than in those quietest of moments when there are no distractions, no phone calls, no kids, and nothing to take our attention away.

I still fail at times, but I have tried to implement this into my insomnia. I try to remember that there is a reason for it and I try to meditate on things the Lord is doing in my life or praying for others. With modern technology I can even pick up my phone and do some Bible reading.

Instead of getting frustrated with insomnia perhaps we should find a way to benefit from it.