Benefits!

Benefits!

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: For thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8 KJV

The Context and Charge:

Again, David speaks from a place of personal experience. In the verses before this one, David relies on his knowledge of God to make some pronouncements. It is the presence of God in me that empowers to decree a thing and it is established. It is the presence of God in me that sees beyond the physical reality into the reality that God wants me to see. There are times when what is going on around me looks nothing like what I understand, but God has always proven that He can do the most mighty with the most mundane. It matters in whose hands that life is.

For David, he knew his life was in God's hands, so he could do the 2 things he listed here. There are times when night comes, but sleep seem far away. The mind is weighed down by many concerns and cannot switch off. Yes, it may be the right time to lie down, but there is no guarantee that you will have a restful sleep. God does both: enables you have peace and quiet enough to lay down, and then the presence of mind to be able to sleep and refresh. You do not want to take any of these things for granted; ask about the value of a good night sleep from those who have to be heavily medicated before they can doze off. 

The Contention and Conclusion:

The secret to these double blessings is also seen in the verse above: God makes me dwell in safety. Let it be clear today that no scheme of man can keep you safe if God does not allow it. How can that which a man is able to kill keep another man from death? If the Lord keeps you, it does not matter what the quality or quantity of the opposition against you is; if the Lord does not keep you, who else can do so? It is important that I dwell where God has planted me; I must not be given to wandering around or trying alternative measures. If I feel God is not sufficient, I might as well just leave Him alone, but if I am sure He is all I need, then I must hold on to Him with everything I have got.

Only those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High are kept safe. Only those who are where God wants them to be are guaranteed the blessings of today's verse. I can shout and scream and claim all the promises of God, but without obedience to instructions and clarity in direction, I will struggle to access all that God has provided. God is not mocked; He keeps that which is committed into his hands. He does not force himself on anyone, but He will definitely bless all who come to him and seek Him with all their hearts. Would you come to God on his terms, so you can access all that He is and has? God's time of favour is here.