As I get older, I look forward more to rest at the end of the day. It is funny how sleep is important for us at the beginning of life and near the end. Babies need their sleep as they are growing and learning at an incredible pace. Seniors need our sleep to replenish our energy and prepare us for the next day. Sleep is also important for those between infancy and senior status, but these people seem to largely ignore the needs or fight through the lack of sleep.
Normally I sleep well, although I need a CPAP machine to do so. Many things can keep us from a good night’s rest, but the biggest sleep enemy is anxiety. When we are anxious we can’t seem to turn off the thoughts that cause us to have anxiety. We just keep replaying them over and over in our minds. Of course, worrying and the lack of sleep do not help us relieve the source of stress, nor even feel better about our circumstances.
Paul gives us the antidote for an anxious heart in Philippians 4:5-7; “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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.” The antidote to anxiety is prayer. If we turn the sources of our anxiety over to God, He promises to replace those stresses with His peace. We won’t fully understand how He does it, but in the process He will guard our hearts and minds from anxiety.
Reluctant Retiree 