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The God Who Doesn't Sleep

mountain

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.


He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:1–4

I imagine that I am not alone in losing sleep over the past month worrying about the security of my family’s health, home, and employment. I imagine that I am also not alone in attempting to control and order my life instead of surrendering control and order to the only One who can preserve and keep me.

Our souls can be easily ensnared by these false hopes of worry and control. But this psalm offers rest to the soul willing to trust in the power and watchful eye of God.

Two weeks ago, Brian Dunkel reminded us from Luke 12:25 that our anxiety is entirely unfruitful when it comes to actually improving, guarding, or prolonging our lives. He encouraged us to fight anxiety by remembering our dependence on God. Similarly, the psalmist here teaches us to find hope in the fact that the truest, greatest help “comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Our God is the one who set an order for all of the heavens and the earth when he created it! He controls every molecule and heavenly body, sustaining every plant, creature, and man until the moment he has set for them to die. He does this regardless of whether or not we spend sleepless nights planning, laboring, or fretting. He is powerful enough to be our help and to guard our feet from faltering.

The psalmist also finds comfort in the fact that the one who keeps us does not slumber. Our God is always awake, aware of our needs, allowing us to lie down and sleep, knowing that he alone keeps us safe (Psalm 4:8). Because of this we can go to our beds unburdened by the cares of the day. We can rest, knowing that the Lord sustains us (Psalm 3:5). In this season it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the things we “need” to do to protect and provide for ourselves and our families. But it is important for us to “prioritize rest”, as I was reminded by a member of my small group. Let us not try to do it all, but find rest in our Lord who offers rest for the weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28).

We don’t need to lose sleep, because we have a God who doesn’t slumber.