Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19981206.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm One Hundred And Nineteen (Qoph) - Handling Insomnia Caused By A Burdened Heart
(Psalm 119:145-152)
  1. Introduction
    1. Most of the time, a believer in Christ can leave his burdens with the Lord in faith and go to sleep.
    2. However, there are those times when a unique burden is so intense to the believer that he just cannot sleep well. He cannot "let it go" unto the Lord in prayer and leave it there.
    3. Psalm 119:145-152 addresses this need as follows:
  2. Handling Insomnia Caused By A Burdened Heart, Psalm 119:145-152.
    1. The psalmist recognized his burden caused him to be sleepless, but in his insomnia he made himself recall his need for God's Word, Ps. 119:145-147:
      1. He prayed with his whole heart, meaning prayer with an honest attitude toward God for His help, but simultaneously promised not to disobey God's Word, Ps. 119:145.
      2. Accordingly, the psalmist promised to seek God's help in prayer while also pledging to read Scripture carefully to pick up any divine instructions that would address his needs on the matter at hand, 119:146.
      3. With the burden being so heavy that it led to the psalmist's insomnia, the psalmist shifted his thinking from what worried him to anticipating God's fulfilling Biblical promises addressing his concern, 119:147
    2. The psalmist realized he needed to be exposed to Scripture to offset his insomnia, so he wisely read and applied the Word to his unique situation's needs, Ps. 119:148-152:
      1. He took the time offered by being awake in the night to meditate on appropriate Bible texts, 119:148.
      2. He handled his feelings of guilt -- whether they were true or false feelings of guilt -- by leaning upon God's loyal love (chesed) for correcting any rapport problems between himself and God, Ps. 119:149a.
      3. He found comfort in recalling that his closeness to God's Word by his heeding it regarding his trying situation also meant similar closeness to the God of his help, Ps. 119:150-151a; cf. also John 14:21, 23.
      4. The psalmist was encouraged to relax by recalling that God's Scriptural promises were reliable to address his insecurity and concern on what had kept him awake, Ps. 119:151b.
      5. He was encouraged that God would help him now by remembering that God's written Word had proved itself to be reliable in his experience from even the years of his distant past, Ps. 119:152.
Lesson: When our burdens become so intense that we cannot leave them with God in prayer, and suffer sleeplessness, We must do the following: (1) We must get into the BIBLE for help. Once we DO so, we are uplifted by (2) meditating on appropriate passages. (3) Also, we must avail ourselves of God's forgiveness through confession if Scripture reveals this is our need. (4) We will be encoured by remembering that doing things BIBLICALLY means the GOD of our help is close by to help. (5) Finally, we are bolstered through recalling that God's distant past fulfillments of Scripture for us, for these imply that He is willing and able to help us NOW!

Application: (1) Since suffering insomnia due to anxiety over an issue demands that we get God's insight on the matter from the Word, it is crucial that we get to the RIGHT text, and handle it CORRECTLY, cf. 2 Tim. 2:15. Obviously, this takes (a) some past knowledge of the Word. This can be gained through exposing one's self to credible teaching by good teachers as well as our getting into the Word so that the Holy Spirit can remind us of passages we need at the time, Jn. 14:26; Eph. 4:11-12. (b) Thus, we need to expose ourselves to Scripture regularly to handle insomnia from deep burdens. (2) As recalling God's past help encourages one to trust Scripture while suffering burden-caused insomnia, we must have ALREADY walked with God to have s uch a helpful recollection given to us in our time of need. Thus, we must regularly fellowship with the Lord to crack such burden-caused insomnia. IN OTHER WORDS, THE MORE WE HEED SCRIPTURE IN LIFE, THE BETTER NIGHT'S SLEEP WE GET!