YOU PROBABLY NEED TO READ THIS NOW!

YOU CAN REST AT NIGHT!

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him.

Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD.

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

David knows that any rescue of him by God will be based solely on the righteousness of God and not his own. The work and care of God is certainly a gracious act and in no way deserved. As David seeks God’s help, he also calls men to look to His LORD and not to their own human understanding. The psalmist knows that God has set His own apart and that He will hear their call.

I love the way David goes to bed:

Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.

In bed at night, when all is quiet, our thoughts can run wild. Loneliness, despair, bitterness, and many more negative thoughts surface. It is in those moments that our hearts can express rebellion to God. Our bitterness or outright anger demonstrates that we feel that we deserve something different or better.

David says to be quiet and think. He is watching his thought life, and the center of his thinking is God and not himself. He is rehearsing the character of God and His righteousness. The psalmist chooses to trust in the Creator and sustainer of the universe. He knows that he can trust his sovereign God and not himself.

In those moments some are tempted to question God, but not David, he is confidently, waiting upon God to show Himself faithful. He knows where the light of God’s tender care will come for those dark moments.

David is not dependent on material things to produce joy, for he has seen that even men who have abundance do not experience the amount of joy that he has in his heart. The reality of his enemies and the difficulty of his situations might not change, but he will find rest in the LORD.

Worry keeps so many people awake, but those who trust Him can rest at night in the midst of the difficulties of life.

I think of many who are going through physical difficulties: friends who are struggling through broken marriages or difficult relationships with children, others who are looking for jobs or are having difficulties in their place of employment, some who are struggling in churches that are in turmoil, others who are missing some loved one. Where can they find peace? Where can I find peace in my own difficulties? The same place where David did: in the arms of our providential, wise, omnipotent, and loving God.

Relief and hope cannot be found in our ability to change situations, or even in the change of circumstances or people. We lived in a fallen world, populated by fallen people. Our hope is in the LORD!

Stop looking down, stop looking around, certainly stop looking at yourself! Look up, and through God’s Word, look at your heavenly father! Let the peace of God guard your heart.

Philippians 4:6-7

            …do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.