Peaceful Night

[usha rani]

Praying for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

You have poured out your heart in prayer, and this is good, for the fervent prayer of a mother avails much. But now I would strengthen you with this word: "Do not suffer your foot to be moved." The suffering depends on us. When the enemy stirs up agitation and confusion in your son, as if a storm were raging in his soul, stand steadfast and unmoveable. Let not your own spirit be shaken. For the Lord who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He watches over your son even in the night season, when these torments arise. The disturbance is like a dark sleep of the soul that the wicked one would cast upon him, but you, by your prayer, are keeping vigil. Remain sober and watchful. For it is in our power always to have it day, always to watch. The sleep of vice and the drunkenness of worldly passions are what truly threaten; but bodily restlessness, even if it come with confusion, cannot harm the soul that is guarded by faith.

Remember the good Shepherd. He lays down His life for the sheep; He needs no command to care for His own. Your son is His sheep, and no one can snatch him out of His hand. The agitation, the fear, the rigid habits, these are like thorns and briers in a field, but the Shepherd knows how to clear them away. Do not think that because the trouble returns, your prayers fall short. A tree that is struck ten times and does not fall may yet be brought down by the eleventh blow, but it is the ten strokes that made the last effectual. So it is with prayer. Even when you see no immediate change, the very persistence of your supplication is weakening the power of the enemy. One day, suddenly, the peace you seek will come and remain.

Consider also the saints in affliction. Paul and Silas, with backs torn by scourges and feet fast in the stocks, at midnight sang praises to God. What can be more adamantine than such souls? They did not focus on the pain or the darkness but on the Lord who was with them. So do you, in the midnight of this trial, lift up hymns and thanksgivings. Sing not only for deliverance but for the very trial itself, for it is permitted that the strength of Christ may be made perfect in weakness. Your son's soul, even in its distress, can be a beacon if you do not despair.

Do not be troubled that he seems to sleep fitfully or wake in torment. Bodily sleep is not the greatest concern; rather, pray that his soul may be awake to God. For the fear of the Lord, even in a simple heart, brings a composed and decent sleep, free from wild fancies. As far as he is able, let him be surrounded with an atmosphere of godliness. And for what he cannot yet grasp, your faith covers him, as the roof covered the paralytic let down before Jesus.

Above all, do not sink under the weight of this care. The heathen say, "Bear it manfully, for what is done cannot be undone." But we say, "Bear it manfully, for he will surely rise again." The child sleeps and is not dead; he is at rest and has not perished. These nightly attacks are but phantoms, fleeting as dreams. The reality is the eternal life won for him by Christ. Even now, by the stripes of Jesus, healing is at work. You have seen him seizure-free for months; this is a token of the full restoration to come. Do not let the present setback cause you to forget the former mercies.

The Day of the Lord comes as a thief to those who sleep the sleep of sin, but to you who watch and are sober, it will come as a royal messenger summoning you to joy. Until then, stand your ground. Rebuke the enemy in Jesus' name, but then rest in the Shepherd's care. He who stilled the storm with a word is in the boat with you. He may seem to sleep, but He knows the wind and the waves. Trust Him. Your son will yet have peaceful nights, calm meals, and a quiet spirit. The thorns will be uprooted. Watch, pray, and do not waver. The Lord has dealt bountifully with you, and He will do so again.