“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Lately, we have had some late evenings awaking from bad dreams and spent time by our children’s bedside trying to comfort them. At first, I found myself frustrated after many attempts of not being able to return to sleep. But then I remembered we are to rejoice at all times, in every circumstance. Late at night, half asleep may seem like an unusual time to rejoice but I have found that when my children call out to me for help and comfort, how can I respond except with joy? They do not call out for friends or others, but for me. I started to think that is how God our Heavenly Father must feel when we call out to Him when we need help. God wants us to rejoice because we have access to the only one who can help. In these moments, we really can truly rejoice because no one else can have a way to deliver us from the evils of the day, other than the Lord. The second thing that I have found has helped was, we would pray over our children when they have bad dreams, praying for peace, comfort and for the memories of any bad dreams would be erased. My children have also started asking for a Bible story before I leave as well and so I will tell a brief story from the Bible and this has calmed and comforted them to sleep, leaving them resting peacefully. We have the Bible which provides guidance and deliverance from the things of this world. So why do we fret when we troubles arise, we can pray, pause and reflect on what the Lord has already done, proven by His Word, and then rest assured that He has it all under control. We can rest assured that we have the answer, and rejoice, because we know that in all things the Lord is moving keeping watch over us. Whether you find moments startling in the day or night, rejoice the Lord is there in all of life’s troubles.  Just like our children call to us in times of distress, He is waiting for us to call to Him, one who neither sleeps nor slumbers, always ready when we call. I do not know about you, but knowing God is waiting to hear from us and is always present, I can rejoice and look for the good that He has planned and purposed for our days. I can rejoice that even though I may have lost sleep, my children have a testimony that the Lord delivered them when they called and gave them rest, what is there more to rejoice about then that, that our children have memories of answered prayer from a God that loves and adores them.