I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Psalm 121:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)
Human beings get tired. We get so weary and worn out, we long for rest. Sometimes just a quick nap will do — a brief period of time to simply close our eyes in effort to restore our energy. However, physically we need sound, solid sleep to rejuvenate our bodies and minds in order to keep going each day. Our bodies just need to stop moving; our minds just need to stop thinking. People require sleep to keep from stumbling about like the walking dead. Although we were created in God's image, He does not sleep. He's watching us as we sleep.
It is comforting to know that as we trust in the Lord, we can count on Him to watch over us whether we're asleep or awake. In fact, it is He who wakes us up from sleep. We may think it's that alarm clock rudely interrupting our dreams, but when we remember those asleep in Christ, we know the blessing of waking up from a long restful slumber.
We can also count on God to keep us from falling as we stumble about in our own strength resisting our natural desire to lean on and rest in Him. We try so hard to face the challenges of life on this planet on our own terms and in our own way. The reason this doesn't work in the long run is because God made those mountains we encounter and try to climb on our own. We must remember that it is His strength that empowers us to move up and beyond them. It is His mercy that shuts us down when we need to stop and His grace that starts us up again when it's time to move.
Looking to the Lord for our help is what we were created to do. We were made to rely upon our God who does not sleep but watches over us 24/7. As we put our trust in Him, we can close our eyes with confidence that He is going to wake us up to be with Him wherever He wants us to be and that He has been sitting there watching over each of us protecting us as we sleep. Our help comes from the Lord.