I really value my sleep. Perhaps it is because I have seven children and have had many nights of interrupted sleep. Perhaps it is because I worked nights for several years and I now enjoy getting regular and consistent sleep. So my bed time is usually 11pm. It is rare for me to be up past midnight.
Unlike me, some of my teenage children like to stay up – the later the better. But I have found that they value their sleep as well (this becomes quite apparent when I go to wake them up before 9am!). The reality is that we all value sleep. It is a basic and important human need.
With this in mind, I took special note of Psalm 119:62 – “At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules.” Psalm 119 is a psalm completely devoted to the Word of God. Here the psalmist contends that he is so overwhelmed with God’s laws that he gets up in the middle of the night out of his warm bed and gives praise to God.
What are the things that inspire you to go without sleep? You drive through the night to get to grandma’s house for Christmas. You stay up late to take in a Tiger’s game at Comerica Park. You work through the night to complete that last house repair before the big open house celebration.
Do you value the Word of God as much as you value these things? What type of priority do you give to the Word of God? Are you willing to sacrifice and be inconvenienced in order to read the Word of God? Are you moved with gratitude for the incredible gift of the Word of God? I have found that I value the things I invest in. The Bible says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). If you want to gain an appreciation of the Word of God, commit yourself to reading, studying and memorizing it.
The list of things that keep me up past midnight is pretty small. But I am praying that God will renew in me that kind of passionate appreciation for his Word.
Pastor Jeff
Photo credit: https://www.maxpixel.net/Weimaraner-Lazy-Sleepy-Dog-Tired-Snout-2532610
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