I remember driving with my Dad at night when it would rain hard, and as a kid, I was afraid. I thought to myself, “How could he see? What about all of the cars around him?” However, time and time again, I would drift off to sleep in the back of the car. You see, no matter how dark and stormy the road, my Dad had the wheel, and I trusted him.
I'm reminded of a story about the English Reformer martyr, Nicholas Ridley. Nicholas Ridley was a Bishop of London who lived during the times of the Marian persecution of Protestants. The night before Ridley was to be executed, we find recorded that when asked by some friends if he would like them to stay up with him that night, he said, “No, no, that you shall not. For I mind (God willing) to go to bed, and to sleep as quietly tonight, as ever I did in my life.”
How could he sleep before his execution? It was because he knew that his heavenly Father had the wheel, no matter how dark and stormy the road ahead might be. The Psalmist wrote about this experience in Psalm 4:8, “In peace, I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Another way to say this is, “Be still and know that I am God.” Still your heart Christian, because God is God. No matter what happens, no matter what your experience may be, there is not a square inch in this universe or moment in time over which he does not reign. Lay your head on this pillow and sleep: God is God. Whisper to your heart, “Be still, heart, God is God.” Fall, recklessly into the pillow of his sovereignty, love, mercy, and care.
What is happening in your life? What anxiety is keeping you up at night? You can drift off to sleep because your Heavenly Father has the wheel, and no matter how dark and stormy the road ahead of you might be, you can trust him with your life.
- Paul Banfe