It's Kelly.
It's 3 am East Coast Time.
I've been up intermittently since midnight.
I googled "withdrawal symptoms" yesterday, and insomnia was one of them.
However, I do not think insomnia is why I'm up.
Let me explain...
Wednesday, at Bible Study, our friend was worried about her son. He went on an extended missions trip (I want to say 9 months) to a Central American country. He called her in the middle of the night to tell her that he was the only man on grounds (for several nights) and had been up all night chasing off intruders with a machete. In the middle of their phone call, the dogs started barking again, and he told his mom to "hold on." Forty-five minutes later he came back. As you can imagine, she was "worried." I put that in quotes because we have a Great Defender, a Strong Deliverer, and she knows it, and her son knows it!
So, I believe I'm up to petition on my friend's behalf. She asked us to, should we wake up in the night, and it is a great honor to lift this young missionary up at this hour so that maybe he can sleep soundly, under the shield of protection of our Lord.
As I was praying in bed, I remembered the Passover. God told the Hebrews to put lamb's blood on their door frames so the Holy Spirit would pass over their house. They would be sleeping safely inside that night. No harm would come to them. I imagined the Holy Spirit swirling around the grounds where my friend's son is staying, protecting, securing.
I love Psalm 91. I often pray it over our troops, but it is fitting in this situation, too:
"You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling-
even the Lord, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways."
Psalm 91: 5-11
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling-
even the Lord, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways."
Psalm 91: 5-11
It is amazing how much strength He gives us when we rely on Him. My prayers are with your friend's missionary son and all our other missionaries out there.
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