The school semester has just begun and I have already had a hectic week of homework and classes. I have already become tired and worn out.
After a long day of classes and work, I came home and felt this hunger to spend time with the Lord. He directed me to Psalm 3:5,
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me (NIV).
Breaking this verse down, the first section states that the author of Psalm's lies down and sleeps. Sleep is a vulnerable state; we are not consciously aware of our surroundings and what is happening around us.
When I went to Swaziland, Africa last year, I was playing with this little girl on the playground. About 20 minutes later, she began to get tired so we stopped and sat in the dirt. A few minutes later, she sat on my lap and fell asleep. Our group was told that if a child falls asleep in our care, it was our responsibility to wake them up before a meal so they won’t miss eating. For some of these amazing kids, that was the only meal they had that day and it was very important to make sure they were awake to eat.
That’s how God is with us. When we give our trust to Him and fall asleep in His care, He makes sure we are woken up just in time for our meal. That meal is not just physical nourishment, but it also spiritual nourishment. God is a good God; He loves it when we trust Him enough to fall asleep in His embrace and when it’s time for us to have a meal, He will lovingly wake us up and make sure that we get fed.
While breaking down the second part of this verse, the word sustains stood out to me.
Sustain (v)- to provide what is needed for; to support weight; to supply with sustenance: nourish.
God nourishes us; He feeds us as we hunger for Him. That is incredible and shows His character. As we seek the Lord, He shows up like He promised and sustains us. He brings life to us and makes sure that we are fed.
God will never give us more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) and God desires to bring us life and sustains us in every part of our lives.
It is even repeated in Psalm 4:8,
I lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety (NIV).
When hard times arise, which they will, God gives us the strength to rest and then awake again. When we trust Him enough to fall asleep in His presence, He embraces us and makes sure to wake us up again after we regain our strength.
