I woke up this morning with no interest in getting out of bed. Not because I was sick or because I had stayed up too late. Not because my sheets were too inviting or the sky too gray. No, the reason I could not get out of bed was because it just felt too hard.
I had gone to bed with a heavy heart, the news of the last several days just too much to take in. The state of the world too chaotic and unsettled to consider facing again. Evil and hate swirling together to form what felt like an impenetrable darkness which would swallow me if I got out of bed.
I laid in bed for an hour praying, reviewing what I know to be true, and reciting Bible verses. “God, I just can’t today. I just can’t. It’s too hard. Too dark. Too scary. Too sad. Let’s just stay here.”
My heart cried out in such a way that I pictured a scene King David described in Psalm 6, “My soul is greatly dismayed…..I am weary from my sighing. Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with tears…”
While my bed wasn’t swimming or my couch soaked in tears, my soul was weary – and I hadn’t even gotten out of bed! I truly considered unplugging every device, turning off every ringer, sending the kids to a friend’s and just remaining in my cocoon of comfort.
It seemed a reasonable response to an unreasonable world.
Yet, as I contemplated the logistics to make such a reality happen, a tune started to form in my head. It’s a tune that was both familiar and new. A tune so simple and yet so deeply profound. A tune I had only heard the day before, sung by my daughter, whispered by the Holy Spirit. A tune that goes with lyrics to a song I am writing for a preschool Bible study – a song to help teach kids about the armor of God.
The first line is, “I want to stand firm and so I will learn to put on the armor of God.” As the tune to that simple little song wafted through my weary heart, I felt God reminding me that I cannot stand firm while lying in my comfy cocoon. And I cannot put on His armor from a prone position.
God gave me rest this morning. He brought verses to my mind and allowed me to wallow for a moment, but then He gave me my marching orders.
This world is a hard place to live. Evil is spreading its tentacles into every nook and cranny. Nowhere feels safe. But that’s wrong. Because there is a safe place. The safest of all places.
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10
So I got out of bed, not because I really wanted to, but because God had somewhere better for me to go. I stood up and asked Him to cover me with His armor and with His very Name.
I realized that I don’t need to lay in my comfy cocoon because I can stand in His strong tower.
The enemy wants nothing more than to kill, disarm, silence and destroy. God’s children cannot lay down in defeat. After all we are not the ones who have already been defeated – Satan is!
He is like a snake whose head has been cut off but is still able to bite. He will be defeated for good one day. But in the meantime we must stand up, put on God’s armor, stand firm in His Name, and live for Him.
Are you weary today? Run to Him. Cry out to Him. Unplug from the world for a few minutes and plug into His Word.
He loves you. He’s waiting for you. He hears you. He sees you. Even from under the
covers! 😉
Much love,
Jen
