Walk in Wisdom

War and Peace

Isaiah 57:2b

… they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.

I’ve got to be honest: I wish Isaiah’s promise here was as true in a physiological sense as it is a spiritual sense, because then I could stop taking melatonin every night. But the fact is walking in uprightness does not always bring restfulness in bed; often, it brings more conflict. How many times have you closed your eyes to sleep after a day of spiritual victory, only to be plunged into a thought-war where visuals of all sorts—from anger to lust to pride to anxiety—flash across the screen of your mind and you beg God to hit the ‘off’ button? To walk in uprightness is to invite persecution, not to avoid it, and our enemy is effectively a nocturnal one. He’s a lord of the night, a master of shadows, a king of darkness, and he comes out when our strength is spent and our work is done and our lights are out.  

But Christian, don’t give in—not even for a second. Not even if you lose some sleep over it. At the end of the day, godliness will be rest for your soul, even if it’s all-out war for your flesh.