Jesus is my NyQuil...
NyQuil has cute commercials they have run for decades.
It starts with someone who can't sleep at night,
Coughing, sniffling... just plain old sick.
THEN they take a spoonful of NyQuil,
And you see that person fast asleep with a smile on their face.
A soothing male voice says finishes off by saying,
"The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine"
The fact that NyQuil is running these commercials for over 10 years and continues to do so says something.
It shows you how much good SLEEP is desired.
It's amazing how many people have problems SLEEPING now.
Studies show that 87% of high school students and 1 of 3 adults don't get enough sleep.
(per National Institute of Health, National Sleep Foundation)
That is A LOT of people!!!
Especially the youth are getting hit hard,
And the number only continues to increase,
As people are coming to accept it as "normal",
And the cause of it isn't really revealed.
But does the whole thing smell fishy to you at all?
Isn't there something innately wrong with the fact that we're not SLEEPING well?
Should we settle for that as a "norm"?
Is there anything we can do about it?
More importantly,
What does God have to say about SLEEP?
"If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your SLEEP will be sweet."
"In peace I will both lie down and SLEEP; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
Clearly God wants us to have good SLEEP,
It's a byproduct of His loving protection,
And our body actually NEEDS it.
It's amazing what our body does during SLEEP.
In the deepest part of our resting hours,
Our body cleans out toxins, trash and poison,
It converts short-term memory to long-term memory,
It heals and repairs the cells in our body.
In other words,
To NOT sleep means...
NO healing,
NO cleaning,
NO detoxifying,
NO proper brain function,
Ultimately, it's a faster trip towards DEATH.
"Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of LIFE."
So what is going on?
Why are we not sleeping as God intended?
Satan is cruel in the way he attacks us.
Did you know that SLEEP deprivation is a form of torture?
It is used to interrogate prisoners of war,
To weaken their will,
To destabilize,
To control,
To extract information,
To force confessions,
And many of us are living a SLEEP deprived life,
Is that crazy or what?
There's 2 reasons for this.
First is because we don't know better,
We don't know the habits we have that hurt our SLEEP.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"
Second is,
What we do know we don't want to do,
Because it's not convenient or comfortable.
"They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart."
Satan is tricking us to literally torture ourselves,
To prevent our body from cleaning, healing and living,
As a result "cancer" is the new "flu",
Depression and suicide rates are multiplying,
We need Jesus now more than ever.
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life"
However, there are SIMPLE things you can do to start turning this around.
Jesus is the answer.
We need to take Jesus like medicine,
We need to take Jesus like He is NyQuil,
Every day,
Every night,
Consistently,
Diligently.
"peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
PROBLEM: Our brain can't go from 100 miles a minute to 0 instantly.
SOLUTION: A STRATEGY to INTENTIONALLY shut down the brain so we can sleep soundly.
Here are 3 Steps on taking Jesus like NyQuil.
STEP 1) Establish your bedtime by asking "Holy Spirit, What time should I go to sleep?"
STEP 2) Set an alarm to shut down all work and electronics 1 hour before bed. When the alarm goes off STOP EVERYTHING and put your phone in AIRPLANE MODE. No more emails, phone, text, social media, NOTHING. You must start cooling down your brain for rest.
STEP 3) 30 minutes before sleep take some Jesus NyQuil by reading scripture and chatting with Holy Spirit. Here are the micro-steps for that.
- Read Psalms 23:1-3 SLOOOWLY and chew on it.
- Then take a deep breath and ask "Holy Spirit, what do you want to say to me? Speak, Your servant is listening..." and get QUIET. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and WAIT. Write down anything that comes to mind. Ask any other question you want.
- Rinse and repeat as needed.
Remember it takes time,
To go from an over-stimulated and stressed out state,
To a RESTful one,
And you need STRATEGY to make that happen.
Jesus is the best strategy to ensure GOOD, DEEP SLEEP.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me bear the fruit of peace,
In my mind,
In my thoughts,
In my habits,
In my sleeping patterns.
Forgive me for letting in fear,
Forgive me for indulging in my desires instead of Yours,
Forgive me for taking my eyes off of You.
Lord, I need Your help for SLEEP,
I need Your wisdom,
Your guidance,
Your peace and protection.
May my sleep be SWEET according to Your word,
May I lie down in PEACE according to Your promise,
Teach me how to ABIDE in You,
So that I can be in Your will with my SLEEP.
In Jesus name, Amen."
For your own health and sanity, take care of your body... God's temple.
"You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. "
Cheers to letting Jesus be your NyQuil and your sleep medicine. ^_^
