Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
- Psalm 55:22
My family had been on the road all day, having finished our weeklong trip to Colorado and begun our journey home. In 12 hours we had made the journey from Denver to Great Sand Dunes National Park to our destination for the night, a motel in Amarillo. It was 1:00 AM and everybody was exhausted. After getting the kids into pajamas, I finally collapsed into the bed I was sharing with my eldest son, Andrew.
And try as I might, I couldn’t sleep.
Some of it was the caffeine coursing through my veins, courtesy of the Dr Pepper I’d been nursing on the drive. Some of it was Andrew, who kept stretching over to my side of the bed. And much of it was my mind exiting vacation mode and now thinking about all the responsibilities, activities, and stresses awaiting me when we got home. I just couldn’t sleep.
I suspect you’ve been there before, tossing and turning, counting sheep, trying to will yourself into a slumber that refuses to come. Few things are as frustrating or as exhausting as a mind so full that your body can’t rest.
In such times—or better yet, before then—the Bible encourages you to turn anxiety into prayer, to cast your burdens upon the Lord. Instead of letting stress consume you, give it to God. Instead of worrying yourself to death, pray your way to faith—faith that, when you feel out of control, God is still sovereign.
Prayer won’t make your problems go away. Faith isn’t a magic cure for all of life’s ills. But when you have the humility to acknowledge that God can handle what you can’t, you’ll find peace. And maybe even a good night’s sleep.
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