Nightmares and Daymares

Every now and again, our dog Jack, has a nightmare. Sometimes he trembles and even howls. He did this in the early hours of this morning. He was stretched alongside my legs when I heard the faint whimpers of what I knew was another nightmare. He then began a howl. I placed my hand on him and spoke reassuringly, “It’s okay, Jack. It’s okay. I’m here.” His quivering muscles relaxed as he continued on in quiet slumber.

Doesn’t that happen to all of us at times? Sleep evades us in the night, a result of troubling thoughts, while in the waking hours, we can have a daymare; those same troubling thoughts of the night, disturbing the peace of our hearts. We feel our insides tremble. In the dark chambers of our minds we howl in our anxieties. But then? The loving hand of our Father touches us. He speaks reassuringly, “Come to me, weary one. I’ll give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 – paraphrase mine) When we hear His words of comfort, inner tensions ease, and we relax and continue on in peace, knowing He is with us. He won’t leave us.

Some ask, but how do we recognize His voice? That takes practice. For the whole of my life I have listened to my mother’s voice. Therefore, if I’m away and she phones me, she never has to identify herself. I recognize her voice. It’s the same in our relationship with our Father. The more we spend time reading His Words found in Scripture, the more we meditate upon those Words, the more we praise and worship Him, the more we communicate with Him in prayer, the better we are at recognizing when He speaks to us — and be assured — He will speak.

The Father heart of God longs to be invited into the lives of His children to intervene on their behalf. He desires always, to not only speak comforting Words, but to have us listen and contemplate them. He knows His perfect Words will always lead us correctly and give us the courage and peace we need to face our troubling days.

We all experience nightmares and daymares in our lives. Be assured, you never have to just lay there and howl. Father is ready to place upon you His hands of love, whisper words of comfort, and let you sleep beside Him with peaceful thoughts to quieten the anxious ones.