“In the Middle of the Night”

“In the Middle of the Night”

            ^{“ rise before dawn and cry for help;
 I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.”}

^{Psalm 119:147-148 NIV}

         ^{You may or may not know that Pamela and I have a new “family” member. My mother has bequeathed us her puppy, a 10 month old Havanese, the kind of dog that, if I saw someone walking one on the street, I’d yell, “Hey, get a real dog!” Don’t be alarmed. My Mother is still with us, but Millie was just too energetic for her to handle on a full-time basis. So, Millie now lives with us.}

         ^{And you may or may not know that I hate waking up in the middle of the night. Mostly because my mind begins to think, and when that happens, I can’t seem to turn it off. Maybe I should pray the prayer an old pastor would pray, “O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Which would put him right back to sleep.}

         ^{But not me. “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your (God’s) promises.” It happened Monday night this week. Pamela was away having a sleep study done and Millie and I were home alone. At 1:00 am, 3:00 am, and again at 6:00 am, Millie woke me so we could go outside and scan the horizon for Pamela, her other human. After falling back into bed, instead of listing my loved ones and all their concerns, I lay awake, cursing our cute little puppy under my breath. Instead of trying to remember a biblical promise, I lay there complaining because my sleep was interrupted. I should have cried for help, and put my hope in God’s Word, but I grumbled until I fell back to sleep.}

         ^{In the quiet darkness, what do you do? Do you ask God to send you a word? Does the Holy Spirit prompt your memory with a Bible passage, lyrics, or a remembered conversation?} 

         ^{Maybe you need to do what I need to do . . . offer names to Him in our sleepy stupor. I know I need to lift my Mother in prayer, because she awakens in the quiet darkness, too, not because of Millie, but because of health issues. I know I need to whisper a prayer for those who have no one to pray for them: the wanderers, the homeless, the lonely, the elderly.}

         ^{And perhaps, somewhere in the middle of all that, I’ll fall asleep because God, in His mercy, will grant me the peace of rest and restoration . . . in spite of Millie’s whimpers to pee in the middle of the night. I mean, how big can a 9 pound puppy’s bladder be?}

         ^{O Lord, when we awaken, may we listen for Your whisper and then rest in safety and assurance that all is in Your capable hands. Amen.}

^{For those of you who will be worshiping at the Mt. Laurel Church of God this coming Sunday, September 22, Pastor Dale will be bringing the message from God to you based on Psalm 1.} 

^{Consider reading this Scripture before coming to worship or watching on Facebook so your heart is ready to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice.}

^{Pastor Dale}

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this message with anyone you choose. And if you'd like to receive PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send an email to (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.