Terrors of the Night

My night was plagued with dreams. Not just bad dreams, but heart-pounding, terrifying, please-let-me-wake-up nightmares. An overwhelming sense of evil and torment enveloped me. As I lay in bed breathless and shaking, I began to pray Psalms 91:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.'
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with his feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day....". (Emphasis added.)

As my breathing slowed I asked for His protection from terrors of the night. Peace didn't come right away, but I took "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5) and asked that terror be replaced by

"good things...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,  nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us (me) from the love of God..." (Romans 8:32, 38-39).

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17)  

 Sweet healing sleep replaced the terrors of the night. As the sun began to rise my own laughter awakened me. The answer to my prayer came in a vivid dream of antique shopping with John Wayne. What more peaceful and secure endeavor could there be then one with The Duke?The very idea still brings a giggle to my throat.
     As the Halloween season approaches our children will be bombarded with scary costumes, ghost stories, and generally creepy things. Shield them from what you can. You won't be able to shield them from everything, so give them a verse to which they can cling. One of my favorites is:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

Pray for the protection of their hearts and minds before you go trick-or-treating and then have Fun!
My friend, Mary Helen Wheeler, always said, "Why just sit there when you can worry?" Of course, she was counseling against such thinking. Mary DeMuth's blog post today 7 Ways to Get Beyond Worry gives practical ways to deal with fear and worry. I found it helpful, hope you do too!