“My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.” -Isaiah 26:9 (NIV)
I’ve often had sleepless nights. Not out of fear, but usually out of excitement. The promise of a much-anticipated trip or a reunion with an old friend whom I haven’t seen in years is enough to keep me up at night tossing and turning in a futile attempt to make morning come faster. Do I have the same reaction when it comes to spending time with God? Rarely, if never, have I had a night when I was sleepless on account of being excited about reading the Bible. Does this mean that I should? Perhaps. But in His goodness, God has given man the gift of sleep to rest his mortal body. Man is but dust, and I am thankful that I serve a God who understands this well. Besides, I hardly think that God wants His message to be spread by insomniacs. How ineffective a witness that would be for the Christian!
But like all verses in the Bible this one raises a good point. How often do I rush through my morning not stopping to spend time in His Word? I would like to describe myself as someone who pursues righteousness, justice, and truth. But what good is this pursuit without consulting the perfect source from which all these things flow? Can man comprehend the standards God has placed on these qualities? To an extent perhaps, but as with anything man touches, even the most purest of pursuits end up tainted by his sinful nature. It is only through reading God’s Word that the Christian may understand such concepts in their purest form, and interact with them in a way that glorifies God and alleviates the suffering of the world. That alone should keep me up at night.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
