Psalm 3:5

Reflection

David wrote this psalm while on the run, fleeing in the night after his own son's betrayal. What he set down was not an analysis of the odds but a plain fact: "I lie down and sleep; I wake again." Even with the threat still near, he slept, and morning came once more.

Sleep means letting go of control. While awake we believe we guard ourselves, but asleep we cannot. To credit those defenseless hours to the Lord who sustains us — that is where trust lives. The world did not collapse while your eyes were closed, because another hand was holding you.

Tonight, as you lie down, set aside for a moment the unease of a day left unfinished. Waking at all is evidence that someone held you through the dark.