Worship in All Circumstances: Stress

Good morning.

My name is Eric. I'm one of the guys here on staff at Watermark.

It's great to be here with you today.

I have never met someone in my entire life who is most content

when they don't know where their next meal is going to come from.

Random, maybe, but true.

As humanity, we have this craving for stability and security.

It comes in different quantities.

Some people want to know every part of their life, how structured it will be.

But even the most bohemian, hippie person you've ever met in your life

wants some level of security.

They want to know at least where their next meal is coming from.

It's a common condition that goes back to the earliest days of humanity.

If you look back in the book of Genesis in the Bible,

you have Adam and Eve, the first man and woman,

and then their sons, Cain and Abel.

Cain kills his brother, and God says,

Okay, Cain, as a punishment for your sin,

you're going to be a restless wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.

And the first thing Cain does after God tells this to him

is he goes out, he has a kid, and he builds a city.

Because family and city mean security and stability.

It's built into our nature as human beings.

You fast forward a couple chapters later,

you're at the city of Babel.

And the people come together and they say,

We need to build a tower into the heavens,

to reach to the heavens,

so that we will not be scattered across the earth.

We want stability.

We want security.

We want to make sure our friends don't leave.

We like them around.

So we need to do what we can to keep them here.

And this craving for security and stability comes down to today.

I messaged a number of people from the church this week

and asked them,

If you think about you and the people you know,

what are the greatest causes of stress in your lives or their lives?

What are the things that keep you awake at night?

And if you listen to their responses,

it shows that we still struggle with these issues today.

One person said,

We lose sleep because we don't feel we're in control of the situation before us.

And we always think the worst will happen,

and any immediate misstep will lead to dire outcomes.

A lot of people said things like,

Providing for your family.

The future, your next job,

contract renewal at your current job,

lack of job security in general,

the thought of losing someone or something that I love,

finding that special someone,

or if you've already found them,

are you on the same page with them?

You listen to this list,

and it comes down to security and stability.

One person said,

You know, the definition of stress

is sitting in a room,

listening to a talk,

knowing that you can't leave,

but there are four Pokemon right outside the door.

Another person said,

You know, everyone at work must have sleepless nights too,

but a big part is just not to show it.

Even when we know

that the world is going crazy

and we can't sleep at night,

we want to put on this show

that we are stable and secure

for everyone else to see

because we crave stability and security.

And it's not just a watermark issue either.

It's going on worldwide.

How do you explain world events like Brexit,

the election of Duterte in the Philippines,

and the rise of Trump in America?

People want stability and security.

They know that the current political system,

or they think the current political system

will not give them the stability and security they want,

and so they feel this need to take drastic measures to get it.

It's a common human condition.

Everyone wants stability and security,

and when we feel like we don't have it,

our natural human response is stress.

And today we're going to continue in our series

looking at the Psalms

and worship for all seasons

and talk about a psalm for when we are stressed.

And what we're going to see

is that God gives his people

all the things we are tempted to stress over

and become anxious about.

We're going to have three steps

that are going to help us see this.

First, our effort.

Second, our sleep.

And third, our hope.

First, our effort.

Psalm 127, verse 1,

Psalms 127:1

says,

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Now if you look throughout the Bible,

it's very clear that God expects us to be working.

You go back to the Garden of Eve,

and what does God tell Adam and Eve?

He says,

Rule the earth.

Have dominion.

Do work.

If you look at the Ten Commandments,

God comes and he says,

You need a day of rest

because all the other days you're going to be working.

He expects us to do work.

He expects us to go to our jobs,

to do our school.

In the church,

he expects us to be making disciples.

But this verse is clear

that unless God is behind our work,

it is in vain.

If you look at the title of this psalm,

it says that it's written by Solomon.

And it says,

Unless the Lord builds the house.

Solomon built a very famous house.

It's called the temple.

It was the place,

the dwelling place of God on earth.

Solomon did lots of work

to take this temple,

make it a beautiful, beautiful building.

They put a lot of time into it,

a lot of money into it.

And that's quite possibly

what he is referring to in this verse.

But what he is saying is,

we built this elaborate,

beautiful, intricate,

expensive building.

We put in our time

and our effort

and our energy,

but if God's not in it,

it's wasted.

It's useless.

This word labor in this verse

isn't just the word

that we would typically think of

when we think of work.

It can actually be translated

more along the lines of toil,

trouble,

work that leaves us

just feeling empty

and exhausted

at the end of the day.

And he's saying that

if we don't have God in our work,

all of our work

is going to be

that kind of work,

the kind of work

that leaves us empty,

the kind of work

that leaves us stressed.

Unless the Lord

builds the house,

those who build it

labor in vain.

What does it mean

for a house

to be built in vain?

There's a pastor

in the States

named John Piper

and he lists four ways

that a house

can be built in vain.

He says,

first off,

you can build the house

and you just never

complete the construction.

Sort of like

the Tower of Babel

in the Bible.

You start building,

you never actually

complete the house.

It's built in vain.

It can't be used

like it's meant to be.

Second off,

you build the house,

you get it,

it's beautiful.

You move in,

you live there

for a couple years

and then all of a sudden

the house collapses.

Sort of like

the foolish man

that Jesus talked about

who built his house

on the sand.

The storms came,

they knocked out the house.

If you build your house

and two years later

it collapses,

the house has been built

in vain.

The third way

that the house

can be built in vain

is that you build the house,

it's beautiful,

you oversee it,

the construction finishes

and the day that you're

meant to move in,

you dropped out

of a heart attack

and you never get to enjoy

the fruit of your labor.

The writer of Ecclesiastes

in the Bible

talks about this,

the man who

does all this work

and prepares everything

just for someone else

to enjoy it.

And then finally,

the fourth way

that the house

can be built in vain

and I think this one

is one that is all too

common in our culture.

You build the house,

it's beautiful,

you get everything ready,

you move in

and the house,

once you move into it,

becomes a house

of pain and mourning

filled with broken marriages,

rebellious children,

marble shelves

that hold meaningless trinkets.

and why?

Why?

Why is this type

of building vanity?

Because when we build

a house

or really do any

venture in life,

start a business,

start a church,

start a family,

and we do it

without God in it,

everything involved

in the process

starts and ends

with us.

we toil,

we labor,

we work with power

that comes from us.

We complete a project

and the glory goes to us.

We celebrate

what we have accomplished.

We get consumed

with ourselves

and that's that.

And if we can't enjoy it,

it's over.

We never get to be

a part of something

bigger than ourselves.

But what does it look like

on the flip side

if God is the one

building the house?

Well,

when God is the one

building the house,

the power and energy

to build it

comes from him

and the glory for it

goes to him.

A historical example

of this would be

the temple,

this house that Solomon built.

If you think about

the temple,

they brought in

this team of people

with incredible skills

who contributed

to the work.

They did

incredible,

intricate artwork,

carvings,

sculptures,

architecture

to build

this incredible building

and many of them

never even actually

got to see

the completed fruit

of their labor.

There were rooms

in the temple

that certain people,

only certain people

could go into.

In fact,

in the Holy of Holies,

the most sacred place

in the temple,

only one person

could go in there

one time per year.

Which means

anyone involved

in building that room

never got to take

their wife and their friends

to go say,

check out this work

that I did here.

Isn't this a great carving?

Isn't this a cool sculpture?

No, none of that.

You can never show them

what you had done,

but everyone did it.

Everyone joined in

because they knew

that their work

was going towards

the worship of God.

Their work was not in vain.

Their work was part

of something bigger.

Their work was part

of glorifying

and worshiping God.

And now most of us

won't be involved

in something like

building the temple

in our lifetime.

So what does this look like

in a modern context?

When I was a little kid,

my dad actually built

our house in the States.

He went out to the woods,

chopped down trees,

milled, like literally

milled the wood himself,

brought it back

and built it,

had some friends come over

to help him stand up the walls.

He built it from the ground up

and we moved in there

when I was two years old.

And over the years,

in that house,

my parents have raised

four boys,

constantly pointing us

towards Jesus,

constantly teaching us

to love him

and worship him.

In that house,

over the years,

numerous people

have come over

and talked to my parents

during difficult times

in their life

and found encouragement,

found encouragement

to go back to Christ

in those difficult times.

In that house,

the kitchen has been used

to cook,

I can't even guess

how many meals

for people who are sick,

for people who have

just had babies,

for people who are mourning.

In that house,

when I was about 12,

we had a homeless family

come live with us

for six months.

Literally,

out of the homeless shelter,

they came and took my bedroom

and I had to go stay

with my brothers

in their bedroom.

In that house,

amazing ministry

has happened for God

over the years.

Yes, my dad built the house,

but I believe that God

also built that house

and has used it

to make an impact

that will last

for eternity

for him.

But again,

most of us

aren't actually

going to literally

build our houses

in Hong Kong,

you know?

It just doesn't happen here.

But everyone has a place

that we live.

And what does it look like

for us to use

the places

that God has given us

for this season

in our life

to make

an eternal impact

for him?

You know,

I had some friends,

they used to go out

every Saturday night.

They had a couple kids

from the streets

that they would bring in

and these kids

would spend the night

at their house.

My friends would give them

a healthy meal to eat.

My friends would hang out

with these kids,

teach them life skills

and discipline.

My friends would teach

these kids about Jesus,

give them a safe place

to spend the night.

In the morning,

they would eat breakfast

together,

and then they would bring

the kids to church.

I think God built

that household.

God used it.

Even though they were

only in that apartment

for a couple years,

God used their time

in that household.

He built that house

to make a difference

for eternity.

And the fact is

that if God is not

building our house,

whether it's in our homes,

in our businesses,

in our church,

those who build it

labor in vain.

Like I said,

it's true even in the church.

We can have,

we could save up

lots of money,

build this great building,

have a great speaker,

and gather together

to hear talks

all about how great we are,

and just get focused

on ourselves,

lose our sight

for the gospel,

for helping the world

around us,

and all the work

that's gone into

making this incredible,

beautiful church

is in vain.

I don't think we're there

right now at Watermark,

but it very easily

could happen in the future

if God is not in it.

And it's true

not only in the church,

but in our jobs.

We can go to work,

we can stay up

all night long

trying to get

this deal done,

trying to get

the work done,

anxious.

It can be true

what's said of us

in verse 2,

it's in vain

that you rise up early

and go late to rest

eating the bread

of anxious toil.

How many of us

does that describe

staying up late

because we're stressed

about work

and then waking up

as early as we can

in the morning

because we feel

like everything

is dependent on us,

the power comes

from us,

and the glory

goes to us

for a job

that we're doing

in vain.

It says,

not only unless

the Lord builds

the house,

but unless the Lord

watches over the city,

the watchman

stays awake

in vain.

We're dependent

on God

for getting things

started and built,

but we're dependent

on God

for them maintaining

and sustaining

into the future

as well.

You can get

your house built,

but if God's not

watching over the city,

then an entire

city worth

of houses

can be destroyed

in one night.

Again,

that's true

for the church.

We can have

a healthy church

today,

but if God's

not watching

over it,

giving can stop,

attendance can stop,

the church

no longer exists.

Or,

giving can go up,

attendance can go up,

and we lose sight

of the gospel,

and the church

continues on

years and years

to come,

and no one's life

is impacted by it.

Unless the Lord

watches over the city,

the watchman

stays awake

in vain.

So God expects us

to work,

but ultimately,

every endeavor

in our lives

is dependent

on God's work

for its success

or its failure.

That is,

our effort.

Next up,

our sleep.

It says,

in the end

of verse 2,

he gives

to his beloved

sleep.

Sleep comes

from our trust

in God's provision.

If we believe

that God is a good

father who loves us

and takes care of us,

then we will sleep.

And if we don't believe

that God is a good

father who loves us

and takes care of us,

we're going to stay up

all night long

trying to provide

for ourselves

because obviously

God's not going to

provide for us

and everything's

going to go wrong

if I don't.

But God gives

to his beloved

sleep.

I love the movie

Gladiator.

Anyone here love

the movie Gladiator?

Yes?

Thank you.

It's a great movie.

If you haven't seen it,

you should.

In Gladiator,

there's this scene.

It's great.

Commodus is ruling

over the Roman Empire,

but he's stressed.

He's afraid

that all of his work

to take over the country

is going to be in vain,

that it's going to fall apart,

that he's going to lose

his power.

It's late at night.

He's wide awake,

and he's standing

in the doorway

to his nephew's bedroom

watching his nephew sleep.

And his sister

walks up behind him,

and he turns to her,

and he says,

he sleeps so well

because he knows

that he is loved.

He sleeps so well

because he knows

that he is loved.

If we are Christians,

and we have a God

who takes care of us

and provides for us,

that's what the world

should be saying about us.

Those Christians,

they sleep so well

because they know

that they're loved.

If we look at this passage again,

this part that says,

he gives to his beloved sleep,

there's actually

a possible alternate translation

for this line.

It can,

if you look at

the original language,

it could also be translated,

he gives to his beloved

in their sleep.

Slight change,

but a slightly different

meaning as well.

It's not just that

God gives us sleep,

but that as we sleep,

God gives us all the things

that we would have been

stressing over

if we had stayed awake.

We could stay up all night

stressing about

whether the business deal

is going to go through,

or we can go to sleep.

And God is capable

of making that happen

while we are asleep.

Now, it's not going to happen

every single night

that amazing things happen,

but God provides for us

in our sleep,

which is why we are able

to sleep.

A picture of this

happens in the Bible

in the book of Acts.

The apostle Peter,

he's arrested.

He's in prison,

and he's going to be executed

the next day.

I don't know about you,

but I feel like

if I was in prison

about to be executed

the next day,

I would be awake,

plotting,

hey, maybe I could get

this guard's key off of him

while he sleeps

and unlock everything.

Do you think that

would wake them up?

Maybe.

I'm not really sure,

but then there's the other guard

I also have to get past.

What can I do?

What can I do?

Maybe my friends will jump me

while I'm being transported

tomorrow to the execution place.

I'm not really sure.

But Peter sleeps.

The night before his execution,

he is asleep.

And in the middle of the night,

an angel appears,

his chains fall off,

the prison door breaks open,

and he's able to walk right out,

free.

Peter was able to sleep

because in his sleep,

God provided his rescue.

God gives to his beloved

in their sleep.

We can sleep at night

because while we sleep,

God still cares for us,

God still provides for us,

God still takes care of us.

We can stay up,

anxious,

stressed,

worried,

or we can rest,

sleep,

because we have a God

who loves us.

Looking down at verse 3,

behold,

children are a heritage

from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb,

a reward.

If we think about

what we stress about in life,

so much of it relates

to kids and the future.

How are their grades?

Where are they going to go to school?

Can we afford to have kids?

Can we even have kids?

But then,

in the midst of all our stress,

all our worry,

comes the statement

that God gives us kids.

This happens on a physical level,

that God physically gives children,

and it says here

that he gives them as a gift,

not a burden,

by the way.

I think our culture often

sees them as more of a burden,

but it says here

that they are a gift.

And really,

if God's big enough

to give us children,

then surely he's going

to be big enough

to provide for those children

throughout their life.

God gives children

as a blessing for his people.

If you think about the context

that this was written in,

this is written during

the Old Testament,

which means that it's,

God's promises

at this point in time

were made to the nation of Israel

through Abraham.

Abraham was the founding father

of the nation of Israel,

if you go way,

way back in time.

And God made a promise

to Abraham.

He said that he would

give him three things.

He said that he would

bless him,

said that he would give him

a land for his descendants

to live in,

and he said that he would

give him descendants,

that he would multiply him

and make him into

a great nation.

And this promise

followed the descendants

down the line.

If you were an Israelite

and you had kids,

that meant God

was blessing you.

God loves you.

God has provided you

with children.

God has kept his promise

to Abraham through you.

If you don't have kids,

maybe there's something wrong.

If you don't have kids,

maybe God's withholding

his blessing from you.

And so,

what he's saying here

is that kids were a sign

that God was keeping

his promise.

Kids were a sign

that God was giving

his blessing.

That is why kids

are a heritage

or an inheritance

from the Lord.

But what about people

who can't have kids?

Whether it's a married couple

who's just physically

unable to,

or a single person

who can't have kids

because in obedience

to God,

they're living a celibate life

and they can't have kids.

In the New Testament,

Paul talks about

the advantages

of a single life

for a Christian.

And how can it be

that if children

are a blessing

and single people

living in obedience

God can't have kids,

that that's a good thing?

Well, if you look

at these promises

that God gave

to Old Testament Israel,

what you see

is that in the New Testament,

these promises

are fulfilled in Christ.

That through Christ,

God is forming

a people for himself.

That through Christ,

God has established

a kingdom

that will last forever.

That through Christ,

God has given

his blessing

to the entire world.

Which means

that these promises

that God gave

to Abraham

actually still apply

to Christians today,

but we interpret

them differently

through the lens

of Christ.

Which means

that the family of God

is now

a spiritual family.

Yes, there's a people

of God,

but the thing

that unites us

is not our literal

physical bloodlines,

but the blood of Christ,

our common faith

in him.

And so the Bible

tells us

that if we are Christians,

we are all brothers

and sisters

with one another.

in the book

of Corinthians,

Paul talks about

how he became

their father

in Christ

when he shared

with them about Jesus

and they trusted

in him.

And what the Bible

tells us

is that God,

whether we have

physical children

or not,

whether we're married

or single,

young or old,

that God wants us

and expects us

to be spiritual parents,

to be people

who share his word

with others

so that they can

come to know him,

so that they can be

brought into the family

through us.

And God gives us

children today,

physically and spiritually,

as a blessing,

as a way of

building his family,

that physical children,

yes,

but also spiritual children

are a heritage

from the Lord

because God uses us

to impact

their eternity.

and if you look at it,

it says that children

are supposed to be

arrows.

I don't know if you've

ever thought much

about arrows

and the life

of an arrow.

Arrows are made

to be sent out.

I know a lot of parents

who really want

their kids

to have a perfectly

safe life,

to stay close to home,

to be comfortable,

but God says

children are meant

to be arrows.

Arrows are weapons

used in war

and hunting.

The life of an arrow

is not a safe life.

If your goal

for your kids

is nothing more

for them to stay safe,

then I want to ask you today,

do you have the same plans

for your kids

as God does?

God wants us

to raise up children,

physically and spiritually,

who will make an impact

for him in the world.

Children who will go out

and serve in their communities,

maybe even go overseas

as missionaries.

Children who will be

lights for him,

who will be arrows

that pierce the darkness

of the world.

So if you have kids

here today,

how are you preparing

your arrows

to be released?

You know,

the amazing thing

about an arrow

is that if it's aimed

properly,

it can do great damage

to the enemy.

If it's aimed poorly,

it can do great damage

to your own side.

If you're an arrow,

or if you're a parent

here today,

and you put the same

amount of effort

into your job

as you do

into your parenting,

would you still

have a job tomorrow?

If your friends

were to watch

the way that you

interact with your family

and the way that

you lead them,

would they think

that you're more concerned

about where your kids

go to college

or where they spend

eternity?

God has given us

children as a blessing,

but he's also given us

to them as an incredible

tool to be used

for his kingdom.

And are we using

them responsibly?

And again,

just as with everything

else in life,

how our kids turn out

ultimately is dependent

on God.

But he expects us

to be working

alongside of him

to raise them up

towards him.

There's a pastor

in the States

named Matt Chandler,

and I love his description

of their parenting.

He says,

you know,

my wife and I,

we constantly

talk to our kids

about Jesus.

We bring them

to church every week,

we pray with them,

we read the Bible

with them,

but we also try

to do things

to remind them

that God is good

and that he loves them.

So when I ask my daughter

what's her favorite color

and she says pink,

I say,

do you know where

pink comes from?

And I tell her,

God made the color pink

because he loves

beautiful things

and he wants to create

a beautiful world

for you to enjoy.

Or he tells stories

about how they'd put

their kids to bed at night,

get them all settled down,

and then 10 minutes later

go back and wake the kids up

and take them out

for a late night donut run

to remind their kids

that it's not all about rules,

that we as parents love you

and even more,

God as your heavenly father

loves you.

But then he says,

after having done

everything that I possibly can

to raise my kids properly

and point them towards God,

I put them to bed

at the end of the night

and I walk around

to each of their rooms

and I beg for God

to save their souls.

He mixes his metaphors

and talks a little bit

about it like a bonfire.

He says,

what I do

is I take all this kindling

and I wood

and I pile it up

and then I douse it

with gasoline

and I pray for God

to send a spark

that will light it

so that,

but in the meantime

while I wait,

I build that pile

as big as I can

so that when the spark comes,

it will burn

as bright

and as long

as possible.

Children are a heritage

from the Lord,

a great blessing

but a great responsibility.

And again,

just like anything else,

our parenting is dependent

on God's work

but

when we've done

all that we can

to raise our kids

and point them

towards Christ,

we can go to bed

at the end of the night

and sleep

because we have

a good Father

who loves us

and cares for us

and provides for us.

So we've seen our effort,

we've seen our sleep,

finally,

our hope.

You know,

this idea of

being able to sleep

and not needing

to be anxious

and not needing

to be stressed,

it's a great idea

in theory

but is it practical?

Can we live it

in the real world?

Ultimately,

that comes down

to one question.

Is God for us

or against us?

Because if God is for us,

then we can.

We can sleep,

we can rest

because we know

that he's going to provide

and take care of us.

And if God's against us,

then we're probably

not going to succeed,

definitely won't succeed,

but we still need

to try everything

we anxiously can,

give up sleep,

to try,

try to make it work

because we don't have

a Heavenly Father

who's going to take care of us.

Is God for us

or against us?

And how can we know?

How can we know for sure

whether he is for us

or against us?

The answer comes

from the cross.

See, at the cross,

Jesus,

fully God

and fully man,

came to earth

when we were in

rebellion against God,

when we had said to God,

we hate you,

we want nothing

to do with you,

stay away from us,

let us live our lives

the way that we want,

we had declared ourselves

as enemies against God

and we were deserving

of his destruction.

Jesus came down

to the earth

as fully God

and fully man

and he bore

all of the punishment

that we deserve

for our rebellion

at the cost

of his own life.

At the cross,

God provided

for our greatest need

at the greatest cost

possible

to himself.

And if God

is going

to provide

for our greatest need

at the greatest cost

possible to himself,

then surely

he's going to provide

for all of our other needs

as well.

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:31

verses 31

and 32

says,

if God is for us,

who can be

against us?

He who did not

spare his own son

but gave him up

for us all,

how will he not

also with him

graciously give us

all things?

Modern translation,

if God loved us

enough to give up

his son for us,

he's going to love us

enough to give up

anything else for us

that we possibly

could need.

If you have kids,

think about this

for a second.

How many people

on earth are there

that you would

sacrifice your

child's life

to save?

I'm guessing

for most of you

that list is like

zero,

maybe one.

But you think

about whoever

possibly made

that list

of people

that you would

sacrifice your

child's life

to save.

If that person

came up to you

and asked you

for a meal,

would you say

no to them?

Of course not.

You love them

enough to give up

the most valuable

thing in the world

to you,

you're going to

give them a meal,

you're going to

give them a place

to stay,

because you love

them,

because you care

for them.

God gave up

his son

for us.

He's going to

provide everything

else that we

need.

And,

you know,

I talked earlier

about if God

doesn't build

the church,

you know,

in addition,

God has promised

to build the

church as well.

Now,

it's not a

categorical promise

that watermark's

just going to

exist forever,

but it means

that while we're

here,

the things that

we're doing

for God's

kingdom are

going to have

an eternal

impact,

that God's

going to use

the preaching

of his word

and the lives

that we live,

to spread

his kingdom

in the earth.

So what

difference does

this make

in our lives?

If you're not

a Christian,

trust in Jesus.

You know,

these things that

I've been saying

about how God

loves us,

how God gave

up his son

for us,

how God is

on our side

and not against

us,

if we are

still declaring

ourselves as

enemies against

God by refusing

to trust in

Jesus,

then God

says,

okay,

you're still

enemies.

But he still

wants us

to be his

children and

his friends

and he offers

us today

that if you

have never

trusted in

Jesus to

forgive you

for your

rebellion against

God,

that you can

have forgiveness,

you can have

new life,

all you have

to do is

ask.

So if you

have never

done that

before,

I encourage

you to do

that today.

And if

you're here

and you

are a

Christian,

if you

trust in

this God

who is so

big,

so loving,

so powerful,

what difference

does this make

in our lives?

Let's sleep

this week.

You know,

we say we

worship a God

who's all

powerful,

who loves

us,

who provides

for us,

even when

we sleep,

and yet for

so many of

us,

we stay up

late,

we stay up

anxious and

stressed.

but this

week,

let's view

climbing into

bed as an

act of

worship.

Probably never

thought of it

that way before,

but let's view

climbing into

bed as an

act of

worship.

It's an

intentional

step where

we can say,

God,

I know there's

more I can

do.

I know there's

more I could

stress out about

and be anxious

about.

I know I could

stay up later

and do more

work,

but I'm

trusting in

you,

and I'm

climbing into

bed.

I'm going

to get a

good night's

sleep because

I know,

God,

that you are

a good

father who

loves me,

who cares

for me,

who's on

my side,

and who

provides for

me.

Let's pray.

Father,

we thank you

that you are

a good

father.

We thank you

that in the

times where

we turn to

stress,

when we turn

to anxiety,

that you're

there,

and you're

aware of

everything that's

going on in

our hearts,

in our minds,

and in the

world around

us,

and that you

care.

We thank you

that you have

provided for our

greatest need at

the greatest

possible cost to

yourself that there

is,

and that you've

promised to

provide for all

of our other

needs as well.

We pray that we

be a church that

trusts that,

that is able to

sleep,

sleeping so well

because we know

that we are

loved.

Thank you that

you're good.

We thank you

that you love

us.

In Jesus' name,

amen.