With the smoke detector situation completely under control and my cell phone fully charged, I declared our bedroom a “Beep Free Zone.”  My hopes were high for a peaceful and silent night.

Somewhere between 4 and 5 am, however, I was once again awakened by a familiar sound.  This time it wasn’t a “beep.”  It was Chris’ snoring.

I gave him a little love kick, which I have found over the years to be most effective in startling him just enough to interrupt the snoring but not enough to actually wake him up.  My technique once again proved successful.  I had just rolled over to resume sleeping, when the first fear presented itself.

Don’t you want to worry about ———? it greeted me.  I was reaching for the doorknob to let it in, when I remembered what I had learned yesterday.  I had a choice.

No, actually, I don’t,  I responded.  Silence.

Then.  But what if ———? it countered.

I’m not going to entertain that thought, was my reply.  More silence.

One more attempt.  But what about ———?

God is in control, I addressed the fear firmly.  Complete silence.

This surprising silence was such a total turn-around from the previous few nights, when my fears had thrown a boisterous slumber party in my bedroom.  Yes, I was the one who had invited them in.  But they had taken advantage of my hospitality and overstayed their welcome.  The party was over.  It was time for them to go.

Confronting them and refusing to give them free rein actually worked!  I was amazed at how much quieter it was and how much easier it was to sleep when my worries weren’t jumping on the bed like little monkeys.  I had won this pillow fight.

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Victory over fear IS possible!

4 am, and there it was again.

Beep.

I was half asleep, but awake enough to recall that Chris had replaced ALL of the batteries in the smoke detectors yesterday afternoon, in order to put an end to these early morning wake up calls.  So what was this?

Beep.

I realized the sound was coming from my nightstand.  It was my cell phone, alerting me to it’s low-battery status.  I groped in the dark for the charger and inserted the plug into the phone, which silenced the beeping.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another!

Isn’t that just like worry?  You no sooner escort one fear out, shutting the door behind it with a sigh of relief, and the doorbell rings, announcing the arrival of yet another uninvited house guest.  Fears are persistent little buggers.  Like little kids they will press the bell over and over again until somebody responds.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

I’ve been realizing that while fears may not take kindly to “No” for an answer, I do have a choice as to whether or not I will embrace and entertain them.  While they may rap relentlessly on the door of my mind, disturbing my sleep, they can be confronted and quieted.  Just like replacing a battery or charging a cell phone, there are things I can do to silence their beeping.  I can do more than just lie there helplessly and be subjected to the noise.

The Bible instructs us more than 350 times to ‘fear not’.  Worry and anxiety are mentioned more than 25 times in the New Testament alone as something to be avoided.*  This is more than just a good idea.  It is a command.  But whenever God issues a command, a promise is inherent in it.  If He says, “Don’t worry,” then we can safely assume that it is indeed possible not to worry, and that He will help us live this out.

Believing freedom from fear is attainable is the first step towards conquering it.

Here’s to a “silent night” tonight!

* From Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

(The saga continues in “(Not So) Silent Night”…)

I rolled over in the pre dawn darkness to catch a glimpse of the numbers illuminated on Chris’ alarm clock.

5 am.

I lay there for a moment trying to figure out why I was awake.  Then I heard it again.

Beep.

For the third morning in a row one of our smoke detectors was emitting a low-battery warning signal.  Chris had hauled out the ladder and replaced the batteries in two of the detectors the day before.  But in the middle of the night it is difficult to tell which direction the sound is coming from in this big, echoey house, without actually getting out of bed to investigate.  The fact that there is a smoke detector in each of the five bedrooms, two in the hall and one on the stairs also makes detecting the detector a challenge.

2 down, 6 to go.

The smoke detector wasn’t the only thing keeping me up the past few nights.

A call from my doctor earlier in the week, recommending some further tests, had triggered my own alarms.  Visions of worst-case scenarios danced in my head, preventing me from settling down for any long winter’s naps.  Despite my efforts to muffle the sound with the pillow of reason, my fears kept emitting a low, intermittent “beep.”

Today I am wondering…

Do I need to pinpoint the source of my anxieties to help me understand where they are coming from?  Are my spiritual batteries low?  Is a fresh encounter with the Lord needed to replace my fears with His peace?  What will stop the constant beeping of the “What Ifs” in my mind?

I don’t have all the answers yet.  But I am up and investigating.  I will let you know what I discover.

(Read “More Things That Go Beep in the Night” for the continuation…)