Insomnia

It is 3:53 a.m. I have already been up for some time. For years like clock work I wake up each day between 2:30-3:30 a.m. and cannot go back to sleep. I get up. Many times I pray. Sometimes I read. I also use this time to write. On occasion I watch television hoping to finally be able to go back to sleep. Usually around 5:00-6:00 a.m. I am able to go back to sleep briefly before the start of the day.

Yesterday I awoke to a flash of lightening and loud thunder. The clock read 2:30 a.m. Other times my eyes just open for no apparent reason. Many times I get up to go to the rest room and am unable to go back to sleep. There are times when I want to sleep through the night and try to remain in bed hoping to drift back into peaceful slumber. This seldom ever happens. I toss and turn. I think. Eventually I get up.

I know I am not the only person who lives with some version of insomnia. It is miserable to feel so tired but be unable to sleep. The reasons are varied. It could be intense stress. It could be chronic pain that keeps you awake. It might be depressing thoughts running through your mind. It could be anxiety. It could be God calling you to seek Him. Most dangerous of all, it could be demonic induced temptation.

For whatever reason one night David could not sleep. He walked up on the roof of his palace when he saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing. Lust engulfed the king. He threw caution to the wind and indulged in a night of passion in what he thought would be a one night stand.

Bathsheeba got pregnant. David tried to cover it up by brining Uriah, her husband, from the war. Uriah did not cooperate by sleeping with his wife so David had him murdered on the battlefield. After the appropriate time of grieving David showed up to marry Bathsheba. Nobody was the wiser but God and his prophet Nathan.

Nathan confronted David and, though David's sin was forgiven, he lived with the consequences of those sins for the rest of his days. He had a son rape his step sister. He had another son murder the rapist. The murderer even tried to usurp David on the throne causing David to flee the palace to preserve his life. Eventually that wicked son was killed by David's soldiers. That night of insomnia and that one night stand costs David more than he ever wanted to pay.

That is the way it is with sin. Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to do and cost you more than you ever wanted to pay. While Satan touts the pleasures of sins he never reveals the price. He did not to Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden and he does not you and me. He most certainly does not show the price of sin to insomniacs.

I think about that story this morning while I cannot sleep. What if David had chosen the harp and to engage in worship rather than to lust. How things would have been different if David has chosen to lead his troops out on the battlefield. He still might have suffered from insomnia but he would not have been seduced by a naked woman bathing. I do not think David walked the roof hoping to see a naked woman bathing unless he had seen one before. It appears to me David simply couldn't sleep. He had a little insomnia that night. That fateful night changed everything. David did not handle his insomnia correctly.

There are many dangers lurking in the dark hours when the rest of the world sleeps. Sleazy smut fills the silver screen in those hours. Temptations abound. Drugs and alcohol allure. Seductive internet sites beckon. Late night binge eating can prove irresistible. FLEE brothers and sisters. Run from sin and temptation as fast as you can. There is no safe harbor there. The Siren seductive calls of Satan have sunk many a ship of unsuspecting insomniacs.

It might be true that you cannot sleep. THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO SIN. You can pray. You can read. You can worship. You can write. You can send email and text prayers of encouragement. YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SLEEP BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO GIVE INTO TEMPTATION AND SIN.

What you choose to do with your insomnia is crucial. If you do not channel those unwelcome waking hours properly it could lead to your doom. For me I write. This is my second blog this morning. I wrote a poem earlier. I may never enjoy full nights of sleep again but by the grace of God I hope to redeem this time for Him and His purposes. Be encouraged sleep deprived brothers and sisters. You are not alone. Our God is an eternal insomniac. Redeem these times with Him.