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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : Is this true?

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MaryJane
Member



Joined: 2006/7/31
Posts: 3057


 Re:

Trekker

I have often struggled with sleep issues and so do two of my sons. When this happens I spend time reading my Bible and praying. I always felt that if I were awake anyway perhaps GOD has a reason for this so I go to HIM. I can tell you that for me and my sons it has helped every time.I don't mean to imply this is some kind of cure for your pain or sleep struggles just that it helped me and them in passing the time.

I understand it can be difficult, it has at times been for me. I spend some hours awake but they are spent with HIM and that is a great place to be. This has happened on many occasions but then there are times when I can sleep fine and I give thanks for those times as well.

I can say from my own personal understanding that the verse does not mean that GOD does not love us just because we have pain or because we can not sleep. I think the enemy always likes to get us to take our focus off of GOD by lying to us and telling us that JESUS does not love us. It is simply not true, GOD loves HIS children so much HE sent HIS only SON. Sometimes for me I need to be reminded that HE loves me and reading HIS WORD does help. I find now that there are seasons in my life with JESUS and when my pain flares and I can't sleep I figure there is a reason and I go to HIM. Look at it this way perhaps GOD loves you and me so much that HE just wants a bit more time with us ...that imagine always brings me comfort :)

The enemy wants us to believe GOD does not care because that pulls us as you mentioned further away from the LORD.

Will pray for you
God Bless
maryjane

Edited: wanted to be more clear with my thoughts.

 2012/8/1 8:07Profile
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re:

Quote:
Today i feel ok but there are days when after no sleep for a long time these thoughts consume me and i feel total despair because of this verse. The less i sleep the farther from God i feel.



Hi Trekkor, I appreciate your courage in sharing and expressing your thoughts. Sleep deprivation is the cause of much secret suffering – not just physically, but emotionally too. It makes you feel intensely vulnerable, deprived of the means to rise above the challenges that come your way.

No doubt you are not short on advice from the Job’s friend-types. And you know how that only intensifies your sense of hopelessness and frustration. This is why your desire for a consensus is probably not a good idea. You may end up feeling worse.

Sleep deprivation is complex, and when you have that condition, you are more vulnerable to thoughts and suggestions that merely aggravate your problem. You realize all the more that you can’t muster up enough faith to rise above your condition. (I’m saying that from personal experience.) But then, it’s not about what you can or can’t do. And that may very well be the most valuable lesson gained through this trial. You are moving towards Christ-dependency.

Regarding the psalm verse you quote about sleep, you would do well to consider the whole picture, not just extract a verse. The idea is that, even when surrounded by threatening enemies, the psalmist is not lying awake in fear. He feels secure in God. It is not helpful to extract the verse and use it as a diagnostic tool. That may merely intensify your frustration and you become more and more self-absorbed. That’s exhausting!
Quote:
Also, a Christian friend of mine is not able to sleep either, and after awhile tends to believe God doesnt care either. So if i cannot find hope for myself i cannot find hope for my friend or others to offer.


During my days of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I remember lying on the couch arguing with God:”God, my life is supposed to be a good testimony. But in this condition, how can anyone see anything good!!!” I had to learn to leave it with God. Only later, in looking back could I see that God was indeed working in my life. Those times of feeling on the shelf, useless, alone, and sleep-deprived were important steps in God’s program. At the time I was not able to see the possibility of a bigger picture. And I would not yet know that God had indeed planned a day of healing – after several years.

Trekkor, may God lead you into green pastures and beside quiet waters. And may you feel his big arms of love surrounding you.
Diane


_________________
Diane

 2012/8/1 9:07Profile









 Re: Is this true?


Trekker, Jesus Loves you, more than you'll know until you actually SEE HIM.

You know I don't speak flippantly or not from my 'heart'.

I've been involved [though not in person since I moved in 12/09] with Support Groups of Christian Women with CFIDS, Fibromyalgia, Lyme, etc. etc. ---- all of those "invisible illnesses" as they're called and everyone of them has trouble with Sleep. It's part and parcel with those diseases.

I gave a dear sister-friend some advise once that she said has worked for her and it was - DON'T 'TRY' TO 'SLEEP'.

Just lay down and determine to "rest your eyes only". Keep them shut come heck or high water. Don't determine to sleep when you hit your bed - but just REST your body and mainly Keep yer Eyes Shut. The eyes need rest and so do the muscles of the body. So just determine to rest your body/muscles and eyes. Just lay there and talk to GOD but don't open your eyes - no matter what - don't open them things. Just don't open them! Take control over your body and start relaxing each part of your body and just lay there enjoying how nice that bed and pillow feels and thank GOD for having a bed to lay on and thank Him for your eyes that need to be restored by keeping them shut. That's all.


One more thing that I've been able to guarantee to those support group sisters - that if they can't sleep - all they need do is give me a phone call - because I can talk so long that anybody would fall asleep talking to me - Guaranteed! :D



(You're welcome to get my phone number and see if it ain't true:) Amen!




P.S. Enid is a male.

 2012/8/1 10:59
Heydave
Member



Joined: 2008/4/12
Posts: 1306
Hampshire, UK

 Re:

Trekker,

I understood that you wanted input on that verse from the psalms, which is why I wrote what I did. I just wanted you to know that you should not feel unloved by God because of that verse, because it is not saying what you have taken it to mean.

JIG wrote: "P.S. Enid is a male".
I appologise Enid. Enid is an old fashioned womans name, so I have always picctured you as some elderly lady.:) Shows the problem of on-line discussions!!
BTW- why did you delete you post?


_________________
Dave

 2012/8/1 11:35Profile
SHMILY
Member



Joined: 2009/12/13
Posts: 203
Northern Idaho

 Re: Is this true?

Just want to give a bit of a different perspective.

In the second half of this short Psalm (127) it speaks of children being a heritage of the Lord and blessed is the man whose quiver is full.

A dear friend of mine has 8 children. In speaking of that time when you loose a lot of sleep getting up and down during the night, the verse you mention brought her a great deal of comfort. You see, for her, it was not what she was experiencing at the moment but a promise that she WOULD get sleep. The Lord would not leave her without sleep forever.

Have a blessed day!

(Caps for emphasis not yelling ;) .)

 2012/8/1 13:38Profile
learn
Member



Joined: 2008/7/24
Posts: 613


 Re:

Trekker,
I'm sorry for what you are going through. Another way to relax is to drink rosebuds/rose petals water. It helps you sleep better. Alternative is milk.

Rosehips is a good source of Vitamin C.


_________________
geraldine

 2012/8/1 14:02Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re: Is this true?

Trekker, so you want an interpretation of this verse and not any possible solution?

QUOTE:
______________________________________________________________

So this verse makes me then believe that God does not love me, for it is written that God gives his beloved sleep. Am i right? Are my thoughts the truth?
______________________________________________________________

No, I do not think you are right. Another poster addressed this question and I do not have anything else to add to it.

Sleep disorders are a part of the curse of sin, like sickness is, and is something we have to wrestle with. As you age, the problem gets worse. When we were tending to our babies THEY kept us awake, but now that we are older there are other issues. There are also things we do that will trigger these disorders, so it does behoove me to find out what I am doing to cause this problem. Since this is the case for me it does not work well to blame God for something I do that is causing my problem.

I have had sleep disorders and what did I do for it? I will discuss long-term solutions.

I am 65 YO, have been healthy most of my life and still am, actually, for the most part. But as my body is aging it is trying hard to tell my brain that it no longer has the ability to do the things that was easy and simple twenty years ago. It is screaming at me to SLOW DOWN. Now I have to deal with arthritis in my hips and shoulder. In addition to this there were periods of time in the past when I could not sleep for no apparent reason. When these episodes occurred I worked hard to discover what may be triggering them, like Tom said about his experience. So, for me, what was a trigger and what worked?

I discovered I am allergic to perfumes. They will interfere with sleep. While I had been using unscented shampoo for years, I got my husband to use it as well. Since we sleep in close proximity of each other, this helped a lot! Perfume use can trigger other reactions. I had to go to buying unscented TP, laundry detergents, Ivory soaps, unscented deodorant, etc. Scented items caused other disorders. Eliminating them from my home proved to help a lot.

Then there is the problem of emotional issues. Am I upset, mad at something, somebody? Now this will rob you of sleep for sure...remember the verse "to not allow the sun to go down on your wrath?" Practical advice, there.

I have also learned that if we go to bed without spending some time in the WORD and praying my night will be restless as well.

And then there is your husband. Don't allow anything to interfere in this relationship. Give yourself to him and allow him to love you as he loves.

Having said all this, there could still be other issues that will work at depriving one of sleep. If this is the case I would ask the LORD for insight to see if there is anything I am doing to cause this and if there is that He would give me the grace to deal with it. If it is something that I cannot fix, ask God for his intervention.

God bless you, sister.

ginnyrose





_________________
Sandra Miller

 2012/8/1 15:52Profile
Trekker
Member



Joined: 2011/7/29
Posts: 683
northern USA

 Re:

QUOTE: "No doubt you are not short on advice from the Job’s friend-types. And you know how that only intensifies your sense of hopelessness and frustration. This is why your desire for a consensus is probably not a good idea. You may end up feeling worse."==ROADSIGN





Ha! You read my mind! As a matter of fact, earlier tonight i flipped my Bible and it just happened to land open in the book of JOB, to the verse where he said, "Miserable comforters are ye all." Job 16, i think it was. !!

You are right. But i was NOT asking for advice on how to get to sleep, i was asking whether something was TRUE. Too many people don't know how to listen i guess. Thank YOU for understanding though. I never thought that anyone on here would assume that though i have been a devout Christian for many, many years that it would never have occurred to me to pray or to read my bloody Bible! Like, duh. I think that was what i did when i found the verse with which i started this thread in the first place.

 2012/8/2 3:20Profile
Trekker
Member



Joined: 2011/7/29
Posts: 683
northern USA

 Re:

qUOTE: Just want to give a bit of a different perspective.
In the second half of this short Psalm (127) it speaks of children being a heritage of the Lord and blessed is the man whose quiver is full.A dear friend of mine has 8 children. In speaking of that time when you loose a lot of sleep getting up and down during the night, the verse you mention brought her a great deal of comfort. You see, for her, it was not what she was experiencing at the moment but a promise that she WOULD get sleep. The Lord would not leave her without sleep forever.Have a blessed day!==SCHMILY



Interesting take. It could also be said though--and has been said to me--'We can sleep after we're dead'. Some would say THAT should comfort an insomniac but trust me, it does NOT.
And after all i have been through i am convinced i won't even be allowed to sleep then! (I'm thinking maybe i should be cremated cuz otherwise some cemetary caretaker is gonna fer sure come along with his riding lawnmower and wake me up!!)

 2012/8/2 3:27Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

QUOTE:
"i was asking whether something was TRUE. Too many people don't know how to listen i guess. Thank YOU for understanding though. I never thought that anyone on here would assume that though i have been a devout Christian for many, many years that it would never have occurred to me to pray or to read my bloody Bible! Like, duh. I think that was what i did when i found the verse with which i started this thread in the first place."


Could you please reread this again, Trekker...I know you wrote it, but it is revealing....


_________________
Sandra Miller

 2012/8/3 9:16Profile





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