The God Who Sees Our Sleepless Nights

It’s almost midnight, and I am up thinking about cinnamon rolls. Someday I will share the insight I had with that seemingly random thought, but not today.  My mind didn’t begin with baked goods, but it is where I landed for a bit  after sitting on our blue sofa, in the dark, quiet house. I scrolled through pages on my ESV BIble app instead of Instagram for a change, or perhaps out of a bit of desperation because no amount of worldly distraction can offer me the peace that I need. I pray and I read, then I read and I pray not because I am super saintly or because that is what Christians are supposed to do, but because with Simon Peter I cry out, “Lord to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life.”

I went to 1 Corinthians 13 and then Colossians 3. This morning I was in Ephesians, so I went back to chapter 1. And then I flipped  to 1 Peter 1 because I have spent much time there over the years. I will probably head to 1 John after this before I fall asleep, and I will end the night with Psalm 4 because it is a psalm I would recite as a child when I was afraid or sad.

Maybe someone else besides just me needs these words of love, of hope, of peace, and assurance. Not my words, but His. Perhaps there are many of us who need the reminder of our worth and our security. Sometimes we need a friend to just sit silently beside us, and sometimes we need a loved one to tell us, “The Lord is near. He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He loves you with an everlasting love. Walk in the light, walk in the truth. The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still. He is the God who sees.”

Take comfort that there is an all-knowing God. He knows not just all the facts, but He knows our actions, our hearts, our intentions, and the beginning and the end. He knows our needs, even on the darkest of nights, and He makes himself available and attentive to our prayers, even the ones we can’t quite put into words.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8a NIV)

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” (Col. 3:12-15 ESV)

“In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1: 4b-14 ESV)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:3-9 CSB)

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1a NIV)

“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8 NIV)