As we look to the beginning of another week, how are you feeling?

Do you feel excited, eager, and filled with hopeful expectation?  Do you feel numb and flat that it is just another mediocre week filled with the same tasks as last week?

Do you feel anxious, nervous, worrisome, stressed, frazzled, or fearsome?  Are you at peace with how this day has been and confident that what lies ahead is already hemmed in by the Lord’s provision?

Are you a blended combination of these feelings?

I do not know what lies ahead in your week.  While I would like to think that I have an idea of what my week will hold, at least according to the calendar, the truth is I really do not know what is ahead of me.

What I do know to be true is that no amount of fretting on Sunday evening is going to make Monday any better.  Believe me, I have tried.  I have been through times where Sunday evenings had me tied in knots of anxiety and worry.

There is no sweet sleep for a stressed out, fear ridden, worrier.  There is only tossing, turning, flipping, flopping, and agonizing over minutes past & hours remaining.

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
Proverbs 3:24

Our fears keep us afraid and steal our sweet slumber from us.

Notice the words “when you lie down” are in this verse twice.  When I am anxious about the coming week I tend to try to squeeze everything I can into the weekend.

Any kind of progress can feel like productivity.  I find myself doing one more task, one more thing, “oh I forgot about that”, and “let me just do this” thereby delaying the time I lie down.  Maybe if I wear myself out completely there will not be energy left for me to worry once I drop down.

The buzz of activity and the following crash will cause me to awaken in the morning from a strained sleep, not a sweet sleep.

We need to share the strains with our Savior, surrendering our stresses to find sweet sleep.

Are you anxious about a presentation or project at work?  Tell Jesus about it.  Are you concerned about bills that are coming due this week?  Go to God with it.  Are you feeling hopelessly frustrated in the work world, wondering how one person could complete so many responsibilities?  Share it with the Spirit.

The Holy Trinity has unlimited resources.  That’s right, no end.  God also has unlimited love for You and for every single person that your life will interact with this week.  There is no moment, no detail, no breath that is out of God’s oversight.

Releasing all that holds us captive is what allows us to find the sweet sleep that we seek.

Live It Out

Pause to take a quick inventory of your head and heart.  How are you really feeling about this upcoming week?  Are you moving towards a fearless sweet sleep?  Or are you trying to cram in a few more to do’s before crashing down in exhaustion?

Jot down the big things that are making you anxious and nervous about the week.  Then give the list, in complete surrender, to Jesus.

Pray Through It

Beloved Lord,

Please bless each of us with the wisdom to surrender our worries and anxieties to You.  Please take away our fears about what is to come.  Help us to have the strength to choose a decent time to lie down.  When we do, may we find a decadent peace that draws us into a superbly sweet sleep.

Lord, I know there are so many stresses, strains, pains, problems, weights, and worries that drive us to a flurry of activity, hoping to get far enough ahead to earn some peace.  Lord, help us to know that peace follows our pause, as we take the time to surrender our struggles and fears to You in fellowship. 

In the release may we find refreshment and sweet sleep in the name of Jesus, amen.