When my daughter was little, she went through a pretty intense period of being afraid to fall asleep by herself. Fear of something hiding under her bed, fear of someone coming up the stairs during the night and fear of someone (or something) waiting in her closet to jump out and scare her. As a general rule, anything related to darkness weakened her toddler resolve and security could only be found in my physical presence next to her while she fell asleep each night.
I tried everything. Telling stories, singing songs with her, reading books to her, turning on classical music to help soothe her nerves….none of it worked. Night after night I would lay with her as her small body worked out the energy from the day’s activities while I attempted to trick her mind into thinking about anything except her fear. As a last resort one evening, I found a wooden carving of Jesus’s name she had received at vacation bible school and pinned it up on the wall next to her door. As an added layer of protection, I also wrote some scripture on the inside of her door frame, promising her that between the two, nothing evil or scary would be allowed to enter her room at night.
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about then when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. — Deuteronomy 11:18-20
Eventually, my daughter gained enough confidence to fall asleep by herself, but if given the option, she would still prefer to sleep close to us because our presence provides the comfort and security her young heart yearns after.
As grown ups, most of us (generally speaking) do not live at home anymore and have long given up security blankets or being tucked in at night as a form of personal reassurance. So what do we have to comfort us? Where should the source of our security be found?
If we follow after Jesus and desire to grow in our walk with him, the solution is easy. We fix his name on our walls and write his words on the frames of our doors. We talk about him with our children, during our daily routines and every available opportunity.
We fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith.
HE is our security; our source of strength; our comfort and our reassurance.
We can look to those letters lovingly carved into wood and know that they represent more than just a name. They represent the truth of what we proclaim. Nothing evil or scary can enter into our eternal inheritance.
The cross has won. Death has been defeated. Let’s fix our eyes and hearts on these promises. And sleep tonight in peace and without fear.
Beyond Room 908 