All-Nighters

I have always hated all-nighters.

 I remember going to sleep-overs in middle school. Everything was fine and good for the pizza and hot chocolate and movies. But when we were all still awake well past midnight, I was so exhausted that I'd call my mom to come get me. 

 In high school and college, my friends would stay up all night studying for big tests or finishing papers. I, on the other hand, realized that nothing much had changed since middle school: my brain shut down around midnight. If I didn't get it done the night before, I just didn't get it done.

 Many years later, after devoting my adult life to the healthy habit of at least 8 hours of sleep every night, I had children who didn't sleep for two years. And all-nighters took on a whole new meaning for me. I'd be up multiple times a night, every night, taking care of my babies. 

 When we started travelling out west every summer, we'd leave mid-afternoon and drive all night to get to Colorado or Utah or wherever we were going. If I was lucky, I'd get about 3 hours of sleep in the truck, laying on somebody else's back. (Thanks, Morgan.) That a tiredness that lasts for a while.

 But, honestly, my all-nighters carry little pain compared to some women I know who are experiencing all-nighters I don't can't fathom:
  • The all-nighters of pain, unable to sleep because of some physical condition that simply won't let your body rest
  • The all-nighters of worry, seeing that something that can wreck your marriage or your family is one decision away
  • The all-nighters of medical issues, because hospitals are not conducive to rest and relaxation
  • The all-nighters of regret, realizing you chose to listen to yourself instead of God, and now you live with the guilt
  • The all-nighters of care taking, sacrificing your own health and necessities to meet the needs of others
  • The all-nighters of doubt, wondering how did this all go wrong?


 Sleepless nights lead to stressed-out days, and more than a few of those strung together will fray the nerves, weaken the heart, and break the spirit.

 So what do we do when we've had an all-nighter or twenty? 

"Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve him as watchmen in the Temple every night.
Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion--the Lord who made heaven and earth."
(Psalm 134, TLB, emphasis added)

 That's the whole psalm. It's a short three verses for some people who were pulling all-nighters. (BTW, the word for "serve" actually means, "to stand, remain, endure, take a stand.") 

 Twice the psalmists tells us to bless the Lord. Why twice? Because the last thing we want to do in the midst of an all-nighter is bless God. Let's be real here. When you've been stressed or hurting or scared, when was the last time you thought to yourself, "I just need to stop here and worship."

 Exactly. NOBODY DOES THAT because it's not our human, frail, selfish nature. But it's exactly what we need to do. 

 John Piper explains what it means to "bless the Lord" like this: "to bless God means to recognize His great richness, strength, and gracious bounty and to express our gratitude and delight in seeing and experiencing it." (You can read the whole article from 1978 here.)

 And don't miss the other instruction to those up all night: "lift your hands." Lifted hands look like the gesture of prayer (Psalm 28:2; 1 Timothy 2:8). We don't lift FISTS; we lift our hands, open to God, surrendering to His power and His plan, accepting all that comes.* 

Why in the world, when we find ourselves stretched to our limits in the middle of the night, should we lift our hands and bless God? Because we need to get our eyes, heart, and brain focused back on God. It's too easy to think about everything else around us and feel overwhelmed; we need to know WHO He is and WHAT He says and let Him give us the strength to BELIEVE it.

 Bless the Lord.
  • Speak aloud the things you know to be true, whether or not you feel them.
  • Turn your back on the lies of the devil and well-meaning people around you.
  • Commit yourself to doing the difficult work of being holy.
  • Remind your sleepless brain that He will give you what you need. (Not what you want; what you need.)
  • Let your worship take you to the throne of grace because you are not alone; He is with you.


 Worship resets our focus, our resolve, and our strength.

 The more exhausted you feel, the more worship you need.

 Back to Psalm 134. It opens with the words, "Oh, bless the Lord," and closes with, "The Lord bless you." 

 BLESSING OUT--blessing in. 

 The sacrifice of thanksgiving in the midst of all that is attacking your heart and mind and spirit will be the kindling to spark God's blessing in that very situation.  

 All-nighter?

 Oh, bless the Lord.

@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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*(Ann Voskamp's book 1000 Gifts explains this concept perfectly; you really need to read it if you haven't. But here's a quick blog post saying the same thing.)

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