When you cannot sleep, even those wakeful moments have built-in blessings: they test your faith. So, minister in the house of the Lord by night by worshipping and praising the Lord as you lie awake.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I am a woman of the night.
Now don’t get nervous. I don’t mean something bad; no, when I say that I am a woman of the night, I am thinking of these beautiful words in Psalm 134. Beginning with verse 1, it says, “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord… may the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.” I love, love that Bible verse because I am a servant of the Lord who ministers by night in his house. I mean, it’s like Psalm 84 says, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” And I tell you, God blesses me from Zion when I turn to my Savior in my thoughts as I lie in bed awake at night. I am ministering by night in the house of the Lord. Yep, that’s me, at least at 2AM when I cannot sleep. But no matter what watch of the night, I always feel the favor of God to be able to minister to Jesus in the midnight hours. Now, it may seem to be an odd time to worship, in the depths of a dark night, but whispering thanksgivings and adoration to God from your pillow, I think, has in it a special blessing. When we cannot sleep; when a deep disappointment or grief has us lying awake, that moment has a built-in blessing.
It’s the perfected test of perfected faith. True, it’s easy to praise God when all is sunshiny-bright; when it’s easy, almost effortless to turn to God. But in the dark hours when you are alone with your thoughts, well, I tell you, if you can turn to God then, it shows the Almighty what your faith is made of. As George Matheson once said, “If I am to know the true depth of my friend’s love, I must see how he responds during the winter seasons of my life. And [it is] the same with divine love.” And then Matheson goes on to say, he says, “Praising God in the nighttime gives us an intimate glimpse into the way the Lord Jesus handled his sufferings.” Wow. I love those words, because I know that when I praise God at night, it’s a way of identifying with Jesus in his darkest hour, when the shadows fell hard over Gethsemane and the soldiers came at him with torches. And if I can remember his victory in his darkness; if I can praise his majesty out of my own dark hour in the middle of the night, what a privilege. Oh, to stand beside him, to journey along with him on that hard, difficult road to Calvary.
You know, Asaph wrote of God in Psalm 74, he said, “Yours also is the night.” Wow. The Lord – who never sleeps, right? – he governs the midnight hours, so friend, if you are lying awake and unable to sleep, submit yourself as one who ministers by night in the house of the Lord and so be blessed. Bring to God Psalm 42 and ask him to give you songs in the night. Or Psalm 119:55 says, “In the night, Lord, I remember your name, that I may keep your law.” ’Cause I know that when I’m in my dark bedroom, these Bible verses always provide comfort. They keep my thoughts from becoming fearful and anxious. These verses let me know that God is sovereign over the midnight hours and is happy to pour out his blessings on those who seek his heart in prayer.
Oh, friend, I pray that these are hope-filled words in your hardship, especially if you struggle with sleeplessness. Do not let the night become one long, dreary, blank slate where you feel the hours are wasted. Recapture, reclaim them with Psalm 134 and minister in the house of the Lord at night.
© Joni and Friends