When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet (Proverbs 3:24).

I'm normally the kind of guy who can fall asleep within the first five minutes of laying my head down on my pillow at night.  It's a special gift, I know.  Not everybody can fall asleep so easily.  But I'm fortunate in that regard.  Most nights, I can decide when I fall asleep.

But not all nights.  When I'm feeling stressed or anxious or excited, it can take me hours to fall asleep.

If I have significant interpersonal conflict going on in my life, for instance, I can spend half the night devising conversational sparring strategies in my head, sorting out just how I coud say the right thing to really cut my adversary to the quick -- win whatever argument might be going on between us.  I hear voices of accusation and condemnation in my head, and I cannot sleep until I've defended myself and earned a reprieve, at least for the night.  The more stubborn the conflict, the more intimate the relationship which is being affected by the conflict, the longer it takes me to fall asleep.

I have similar difficulties if I'm working through a major decision in my life.  No matter how much I tell myself to wait and worry about it in the morning, my bed becomes a sort of personal point-of-crisis, as I toss and turn for hours at a time, trying to sort out what the "right" decision might be.  I try to find some way to park it, put the process of deliberation at a resting point, so that I can get some rest of my own.  But usually, while I'm working through a difficult decision, I don't get much sleep until things have been deliberated, decided, and resolved.

But it's not always "bad" stuff, either.  Sometimes, I can have a hard time falling asleep because I'm so happy -- so much adrenaline running through my system.  When the Dutch national soccer team advanced to the finals of the 2010 World Cup, and I got to celebrate the whole thing with a crowd of 50,000 people on Amsterdam's Museumplein, I came home a very happy man and, I thought, a very tired man.  But when I lay down in my bed, I simply could not fall asleep.  I kept thinking about the match, remembering the moments of celebration, wondering about what might happen next (in the final).  It turned out to be kind of frustrating, actually, since I knew that I would be working the following day -- but I couldn't stop my mind from obsessing about the Dutch national soccer team.  I couldn't go to sleep until an hour and a half later.

So I think it's interesting to consider the implications of Proverbs 3:24, for my own personal life.  I find that its descriptions of peace and/or restlessness are highly accurate.  Basically, the prerequisites for fearlessness and for sweet sleep are sound judgment and discernment (v. 21), and confidence in the LORD (v. 26).  When these things are in place, sleep can come easily and quickly.  But when I'm caught up in some stupid argument, when I'm trying to force my way through a difficult decision, when I'm celebrating the glories of an earthly phenomenon -- my focus is not on sound judgment, discernment, and confidence in the LORD.  My judgement and discernment are tied up in my own self-interests.  My confidence is in myself, or the Dutch national soccer team, or something other than God Himself.  And until I get at those issues, my conscience is plagued to the point that it will not let me rest.  It will not let me enjoy sleep.  I'm doomed to tossing and turning and watching the clock mercilessly advance from one minute to the next while I'm still awake despite all my desires to the contrary.

I'm not saying that this is the case for every person who struggles with falling asleep at night.  But I know that it's true for me.  And next time I find myself in a sleepless situation, I'm going to try to remind myself:  How can I exercise sound judgment in this situation?  How can I allow the Holy Spirit to help me discern what is right in this situation?  How can I give my confidence to God above all other things?  How can I turn the reins of my life over to God so that He can direct me where I need to go, and I can get some rest?