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Just Fall Asleep

by Jerry Ousley  
2/13/2010 / Christian Living

The Lord has given me a blessing for which I am very thankful (most of the time) but there have been occasions when this blessing has gotten me into a lot of trouble. The blessing I'm referring to is the ability to be able to fall asleep FAST! My family has often told me that I fall asleep within thirty seconds after my head hits the pillow. I think they might be right because there have been some nights in which I really wanted to lay down and think about a situation for awhile, but it seems I just get started thinking about it and the alarm clock goes off the next morning.

There have been a few times when I had trouble going to sleep. These occurrences were mainly caused by a problem that happened during the day that troubled me. My Dad coined a name for that condition calling it "The Big Eye." It's a fairly descriptive name because when it happens it feels like your eyes are swelled open and sleep is impossible. I've gotten the "Big Eye" a few times in my life, but not very often.

My ability to fall asleep has gotten me into trouble from time to time, particularly when I stretch out in my recliner in front of a movie. If I have eaten a good meal before, well that formula is just like taking an entire handful of sleeping pills to me. But it isn't a good situation when that happens and I've made a promise to do something. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about don't you?

In Mark 5:39 Jesus talked about another sleep. He had been called to the home of Jairus, a ruler of a synagogue, to heal the man's daughter who was deathly sick. But by the time Jesus got there the young lady had died. The mourners had already been called in and they were all around the room wailing at the top of their lungs because of the loss of this fine young lady.

Then Jesus said something that in the opinion of those present, was an improper statement. He said in so many words, "Why, the girl isn't dead; she's just sleeping." It was so out of place in the customs of their day that those present stopped wailing and mourning and literally laughed at our Lord. How could He not know that she had passed? There was nothing that could be done for her now!

But Jesus made them all leave the room except for the girl's father, mother, and Peter, James and John who had come with Him. He then took this twelve year old girl's hand and said, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." To the utter amazement of the five people present, she got up from the bed and walked around the room!

Our Lord wasn't afraid of death. This was because He knew, that for those who would believe in Him, that death was only another form of sleep. We can't understand it with our human, finite minds. We only see our beginning and ending. But Jesus knew that our living souls, brought to life by none other than the breath of God, would go on forever. Death was merely a stepping stone from the mortal to the immortal, from the physical life to the spiritual life.

It scares us. Who am I kidding? It holds dread and fear for all of us because of the unknown. We can accept it by faith but we really don't know what to expect. My grandmother was a dear saint of God. As long as I can remember she had a great hope and expectation of Heaven. She knew that she was ready to go because she had made preparations. She lived a life that exemplified Christ. When I read about the prophetess, Anna, who dwelt in the temple awaiting the coming of the Messiah I think of my grandmother. She was close to God.

But as much as she wanted to go to Heaven, she was also afraid of death. I don't think this was wrong because, again, it is a dread that we all have. But peace can come to us because Jesus conquered the curse of death the sting of death the victory of the grave in our behalf. In Him we never die; we merely fall asleep.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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