sleep tight

Psalm 109:27, "Let them know that it is Your hand, that You, O Lord, have done it."

I remember when that horrible picture of ISIS on the beach with those Christians was circulating.  And the hatred in my heart was astounding.  I also remember the Sunday afterward in some portion of the message hearing about Paul and how he was the most hated persecutor of Christians in their day.  And God used him to make him the most influential evangelizer of the good news of Jesus...his influence continuing to this day as we read from his 13 books in the New Testament.  And the soft reminder that as we often pray for God to vindicate evil that we should also pray for the salvation of the wicked and pray that there would be a Paul amongst them remembering that our God is bigger than any earthly evil.  I also remember recently the pastor talking about sinning in our anger...this right after the death of a young man in our church.  

When we don't often understand, we start to question why.  When you are not yet deeply rooted we question God and even His existence.  David didn't do either of these things.  He trusted God.  He laid his enemies before God to let God deal with them as we should all do.  I learned a decade or so ago that hate is a big ole burden I didn't want to carry around.  David prayed God would take care of the enemies that were chasing him and cursing the needy.  He did not do so to watch the vindication take place, but so they may know God was who He said He was.  He wanted vindication for God's sake-for His name.  Thus, David didn't sin taking vengeance into his own hands.  That's God's work in God's time.

My pastor has said that he is often asked how he is able to sleep at night with the conditions of our world and the burdens of our church on his mind.  He rightly stated that he sleeps great because he knows that when He is sleeping God is hard at work because he has finally quit trying to interfere in His business and has left the work to Him.  Sleep is a sign of faith that God's got this.  

And when God does His thing, in His way, in His time they will know that it was His hand that accomplished it.  So pray and rest well.