4:30 AM! That’s what I get for going to bed at 9 o’clock at night.
Do you ever wake up without seeing the time and you think, “Ahh, I got a good night’s sleep”, only to glance at the glowing numbers that display to you, “It’s 4:30 in the morning!”?
I know sometimes I have, and I get a grin on my face and think, “Yes, one more hour to rest until the alarm goes off.” But then there are those times, much like this morning, when I just lay there and can’t go back to sleep.
So what I am to do but have my mind race with a thousand thoughts…simply pray.
Yesterday was our first day of school with the students. I came home, plopped by body on the floor, and laid there without a thought in my head. So this morning I guess my mind had some catching up to do.
I started to think about a workshop that I need to sign up for, what I wanted to accomplish with my classes this week, how I’m supposed to give a brief synopsis tonight for a one-night-bible-study on Barnabas for next month, my family, friends whose parents had surgery recently, and on and on.
The word “overwhelmed” came to my mind as well. I shared with my students how there will be times this year (much like their first day) that they will feel overwhelmed, but they can overcome. My preacher said something to this effect this past Sunday in his sermon. Actually he said, “Are you overwhelmed? Be comforted by God’s grace.” So when I had this “overwhelming” feeling come over me this morning, I said to myself, “I will overcome this.”
I knew I couldn’t do it alone. That’s when the lyrics to a song by the group For King & Country kept repeating over and over again in my head.
My version was brief and only consisted of nine words… “Fix my eyes, my eyes, on You, on You”. I must have sung those words a hundred times while lying in bed. But I was getting the message. “Keep my eyes on Jesus!”
Then, when I came to see the verse for the day, what was it? Psalm 16:8, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
This just gives me a smile in my heart and on my face. Keeping my eyes on Christ will get me through anything.
Whether you are overwhelmed by school, work, health issues, relationships, whatever your case may be, remember to always keep your eyes on Him.
I pray God’s abundant love and blessings for y’all.
Bonus…Here’s the lyrics to the chorus of For King & Country’s song:
Love like I’m not scared
Give when it’s not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you
I fix my eyes on you
I fix my eyes on you