Have you ever had trouble going to sleep at night because your mind is running fast on all the mistakes you have made in your life? I cannot find this anywhere in the bible, but I personally believe that the devil’s playground is your thoughts late at night. Last night I experienced this around 1am. My thoughts started at high school and worked their way all the way up till yesterday. Ha. Satan was trying his best to get me to believe what a failure I was, and he played the videos (mental images) of all the mistakes I have made in life.

I finally fell asleep after 2 and when I woke up this morning, all the negative thoughts were gone, and it was a new day. I learned a long time ago to never make big decisions at night. I find that the best decisions are made in the morning when you are rested, and your mind is clear. There was a study completed in 2017 that said that most suicides happen at night and the larger percentage of those happen after midnight. The reason is simple, late at night is when you are most vulnerable to negative thoughts.

So, what should you do to combat this? The first step is understanding yourself and that you make poor decisions at night. The second step is to decide ahead of time how you will handle negative thoughts if they occur at night. The third and final step is to whisper a prayer of thanksgiving for your life and those around you and try and fix your mind on an image that gives you peace. In the movie White Christmas Bing Crosby sang this song written by Irvin Berlin about counting your blessings instead of sheep (lyrics below)

Lyrics

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings

 It also noteworthy to tell you that the song White Christmas is the world best-selling song of all time.

There you have it. Take control of your thoughts and don’t let worry at night keep you awake. Just tell yourself that you will think about it in the morning. The morning is when the peace comes, and God has blessed you with a new day to be alive. KT