When Worries Keep Us Awake

Psalm 77

“Tossing and turning.  Turning and tossing. Tossing and turning all night.” These words are more than just lyrics of an oldies song by Bobby Lewis.  They are a reality to many people when worries, concerns, and fears keep them awake half the night.  Asaph, the author of our psalm today, had difficulty sleeping at times, as we see in our passage. Let’s take a look at how he dealt with this problem, and see what we can learn for those nights when we might not be able to sleep due to worries and problems.

As we read through the psalm, Asaph does not give any indication as to what problems were keeping him awake, only that they were very distressing to him. Whatever they were, he was crying out loud to God for relief (vs. 1). In his distress, he was very demonstrative, holding his hands up to God in prayer (vs. 2).  “Please, God!  Hear me!”, he was praying.  When family and friends tried to calm him down, perhaps telling him not to worry or be upset, he would not listen (vs. 2).  This was very distressing to him (vs. 3). This was so overwhelming to Asaph that he could not sleep anymore, nor could he even talk to anyone about it anymore (vs. 4).  Many of us have, at one time or another, been in a similar situation. Our problems seem so overwhelming that we can’t just calm down and relax when a loved one tries to comfort us.  The worry and stress just floods over us so much that we can’t sleep.

During this time of distress, Asaph at first questioned whether God had stopped or had run out of mercy, favor, or graciousness (vs. 7-9). How many times have we wondered whether God has forgotten us in the middle of our problems. Maybe we felt that He had forgotten His promises, or felt that those promises might not apply to us.  In the midst of our trials, we may think that God has lost His power, or that He has changed. But has He?

At some point in the middle of his anguish, Asaph starts to remember all of the times that God has come to his aid, the aid of his family, or that of his people. He starts to recall and remember all of God’s faithfulness in the past, both to him and to others (vs. 10-15). We do not need to fear that God will not keep His promises, or that He has changed, as the Scriptures assure us that God does not, and cannot change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).  As Asaph realizes that God is his answer, when he remembers all of the times in the past that He has helped him, his worries and distress start to melt away. Recalling God’s blessings and deliverances of the past was the key to Asaph’s restored peace, and will be the key to ours, as well.

Asaph also mentioned another key that helped to restore his peace of mind, and that was his singing songs in the nighttime, when he couldn’t sleep (vs. 6). Sometimes it helps to quietly sing hymns and praise songs to God when we cannot sleep. When he did that, Asaph was able to regain his peace, and was then able to remember God. He was able to carefully ponder his problems, any solutions, and leave them all with God.

One of the great deliverances of the past that Asaph recalled was God’s rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt, and the parting of the Red Sea (vs. 16). This mighty act of God showed him that He has not lost His strength. That truth reminded Asaph that God has control of all of nature (vs. 16-19). When we realize that God controls things like powerful thunderstorms, lightning, tornados, and earthquakes, is there any problem that could possibly be too hard for Him to handle?

As Asaph learned in our psalm today, we need to shift our focus from off of ourselves and on to God.  When we do that, our stress and cares will lessen. When we do that, we will be able to lie down in peace, and sleep (Psalm 4:8).