Darkness, Part 1

When was your last sleepless night? For my neighbors it was last night. She is pregnant and the baby is not developing properly.

For me it was about a month ago. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and caught pneumonia*. The result was violent coughing, choking, and a week of sleepless nights.

Several years ago I was confronted with a series of nights awake. At first I was inconvenienced, then I got worried, eventually I fought panic.

The loss of sleep was due to back pain and I feared it would not get better. The panic set in as I contemplated how I was going to make it without adequate sleep and endure the increasing discomfort over the long term. I wandered the house in the dark with the devil prowling after me seeking defeat and a kill.

But God was sufficient.

Have you ever noticed those two words—“but God”—in Scripture? They are two of the greatest words to ever form a phrase. “But God raised Him up.” “But God demonstrated His love.” “But God chose.” “But God comforted.” “But God had mercy.” “But God said.”

Years back, God was sufficient in my sleepless nights. The darkness did not swallow me and the pain and fatigue did not consume me. I don’t know how He did it, but I functioned quite normally for a period of several weeks averaging only two or three hours of rest per night.

But the darkness. What’s with the darkness? That’s where I’m headed next.

* This story is an archive. I had pneumonia in 2002.