Episode 21: Midnight Lies

Kristy: 00:07
Welcome to Unshaken, the podcast where unwavering faith comes real life. I’m Kristy, and together with my husband Tony, we dive into authentic conversations, offering biblical insights and sharing stories that inspire resilience, especially for families navigating the unique challenges of disabilities. Join us each week as we explore faith, family, and the journeys that keep us grounded in Christ. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Let’s stand firm together.

Tony: 00:45
My name is Tony, and uh tonight you’ve got me solo. So, for those of you that may not know, I am a night owl. I love to be up late at night, but sometimes I’m up late at night, and it’s not really by choice, it’s just because I can’t sleep. So tonight is uh one of those nights, the house is quiet, uh my mind is racing, and uh sometimes fear can can get a grip on you, and um it just has a way of uh just grabbing momentum and just running. If this sounds like you every now and again, maybe it sounds like you tonight. Maybe you turned on this episode tonight. Just know that I am here with you. Um I’m recording this episode late at night for that reason, because I want you to know that I’m right here with you in this moment. Spiritual warfare is real, but Christ is Lord. And in these moments, when our mind is is loud and fear is is trying to steer the train, so to speak, we don’t panic. Like you just heard my wife say in the intro, instead, we stand firm. And so tonight we’re gonna stand firm together in this moment. So if this finds you at 2 a.m., stay with me. If you’re on a smart speaker, you can even say, Alexa, volume three, and just keep moving around the house while we talk. Because that’s what this is. This is a conversation. This is not me talking at you, this is me talking with you. Uh, because these are things that I have to fight many times, and Kristy fights with me, alongside me, um, in these moments. There are times when when she’s fighting in the middle of the night with many of these things, and so we fight not with each other, we fight alongside each other to take thoughts captive and bring back the peace that we know that we have in Christ. You’ve heard me use the term spiritual warfare, so let’s just talk about like what it is and what it isn’t. It’s not celebrity demons, it’s not superstition, it is the contested thoughts, the agreements and and the atmosphere that Satan and his minions try to have in our environments, and we have the tools at our disposal to beat that back. We just have to remember that we have those tools because we have authority in Christ, so we can resist, we can submit to Christ, not to the Satan, not to the devil. We submit to Christ, we pray with scripture, we claim the promises of God, we claim the promises and the truths of Christ, and we do this in such a way that the devil has no choice but to get out. And so let’s start there. Let’s start with scripture, 2 Corinthians 10, verse 5. It says, We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God, we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And so we don’t entertain the lies that Satan tries to tell us. Remember what it says in John? It says that Satan is a thief, he comes to kill, steal, and destroy, and so we don’t want any part of that. We don’t want Satan in our lives, we don’t want Satan in our house, we don’t want Satan in our thoughts, we don’t want any part of that, so we don’t entertain any of that stuff, we don’t entertain any of that junk. We take thoughts captive and we bring everything to Christ in prayer. Everything. Peace is possible in the middle of the night. I know sometimes it may not seem that way, but it it really is, and I I I want you guys to really just take this in. Okay, so I don’t I don’t want to rush this, I don’t want to rush through what’s happening tonight. Slow down with me, and let’s look at Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven. These are gonna be our anchors tonight. Here are the verses do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Look at those two verses, look at what it promises in those two verses. Now we have a part in this. What does it say? It says, present your requests, right? Present your request to God. What happens when we present our requests? We will receive peace that transcends all understanding, and we guard our hearts and we guard our minds in Jesus. And that’s what happens at 2 a.m. If Kristy and I are apart, you know, we’re not in the same place for whatever reason, you know. Maybe she’s traveling or I’m traveling. Whenever we’re apart, I really have a hard time uh sleeping at night. So any little thing just has me on guard. In those moments when when you have those kind of panic moments, I tend to be very auditory. And so I grab sometimes I grab my phone and I just turn on scripture. Like I’ll I’ll turn on the Psalms, or I’ll turn on, you know, the book of John, or I’ll turn on any spot that I was in, you know, that I was reading earlier in the day, and just continue to like listen. And here’s the thing, there is no shame to me, anyway. There is nothing bad about falling asleep to scripture being read over you. If you’re like me and you love to like listen to scripture, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d I love to open up a physical Bible and and read. I absolutely love that. I love to write in my Bible, I love to highlight in my Bible. I I absolutely love those things, but I also love being able to just put in my earbuds and as I’m going through my day, just listening to scripture and just filling my mind and my heart with scripture. Some of the sweetest times that I have had have been when I’ve been able to fall asleep when scripture literally being read in my ears because I turned it on at 2 a.m. because I couldn’t sleep. Being able to hear scripture and hear the promises of God, the goodness of God has a way of just bringing that peace that just passes all understanding. If you need prayer tonight, literally, if if you’re listening to this and it’s midnight, one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock, if you need prayer right now, shoot us an email at prayer at unshakenministries.org. We read every single one of those messages, and we will carry whatever it is that is on your mind or on your heart. We will carry it with you. You are not alone. So if you need prayer tonight, I’m gonna say it one more time. If you need prayer tonight, send us an email at prayer at unshakenministries.org, and we will pray for you, we will pray with you, and know that we are going to follow up with you not just once, we’re gonna we’re gonna walk with you as we continue to pray for whatever it is that that’s on your mind and on your heart. So reach out. We would love and we would be honored to pray with you. When we think about this in the middle of the night, falling asleep is not surrender, it’s actually trust. Look at what the psalm says in Psalm 4. Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress, have mercy on me and hear my prayer. How long will your people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusion and seek false gods? Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself. The Lord hears when I call to him. Tremble and do not sin. When you are on your bed, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord. Many, Lord, are asking, who will bring us prosperity? Let the light of your face shine on us, fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will lie down and sleep. For you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. Don’t just rush past that last verse. In peace I will lie down and sleep. For you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. Realize what that means. Realize that we are able to sleep. I am able to sleep. You are able to sleep. Why? Because God doesn’t. God is watching over us. Even in our sleep, He’s watching over us. What we’re gonna do next is we’re gonna identify and we’re gonna name some lies that typically, at least for me and maybe for you, enter my mind in the middle of the night. So when I can’t sleep, it’s usually because one or more of these is trying to grab a hold, and I’m having to fight these lies off in the middle of the night. So we’re going to identify these lies, we’re gonna replace them with truth, we’re gonna pray, and we’re we’re just going to invite God into the spiritual warfare that happens to many of us in the middle of the night when we can’t sleep. All right, let’s just dive in. Let’s look at this. So the first lie: you are alone in this. That’s the first and that’s the biggest lie that Satan always tries to make us believe. Satan wants us to feel isolated, and he wants us to even take it a step further and isolate ourselves because we feel isolated. But that’s a lie, because you’re not alone. The truth is, God is near always, God is near to those that are brokenhearted. God is with you in all things. Look at what it says in Philippians, because Philippians, we just read that, you know, it says, taking your thoughts captive, but go back a couple verses. Go back to Philippians 4, verse 4. It says, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. If you’re feeling like like Satan is trying to make you believe that you’re alone, maybe this prayer is gonna help you. Because this is this is a prayer that that often helps me when when I can’t sleep in the middle of the night. Jesus, I reject the lie of isolation. Thank you that you are here. Guard my heart and guard my mind. It’s that simple. Jesus, I reject the lie of isolation. Thank you that you are here, guard my heart and guard my mind. The second lie is that you have to solve it before the morning light. Oh my gosh, how often does this hit me? How often does this hit Kristy? Our to-do lists are miles long, and we think we have to get it all done in a single day. And that’s never the case. And in fact, what God says is we can cast our cares onto him tonight and every night, because tomorrow will deal with tomorrow. I mean, look at the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 6. It says, Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has its trouble of its own. You know, Kristy and I love to say to each other, don’t borrow trouble. It’s just a reminder to say we deal with what we have today and we worry about tomorrow, tomorrow, right? Do what you can today. But then when it’s time to sleep, go to sleep and know that God is with you, God’s not surprised, God’s sovereign, God’s got you in the palm of his hand. So if right now you are sitting up in bed, you’re just thinking about all the things you’ve got to get done. I don’t know about you, but there’s not much that you can do at two in the morning. So you might as well sleep, get the energy that you need, and attack tomorrow. You know, my my friend Gary Stefus, who used to be a hockey player, you know, he he texts me every now and again in the morning and he says, hey Tony, you’re a warrior. Attack today. That’s something that’s always stuck with me. Like when I know that there’s a lot that I’ve got to get done in a single day, I wake up and I say to myself, you know what? I’m going to attack today and just get after it. But the time to get after it is not 2 a.m. Unless you work overnight. If you work overnight, go ahead. Attack the night, do it. And much respect to all of you that work overnight. Much respect to you guys. It’s not easy. I used to do it, it’s not easy. But if you do work during the day, and there’s so much that that has to get done during the day, sleep at night, get your energy, get your rest so that you have the energy the next day to attack the day. Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Get your rest, rest in Christ, rest in the promise that He’s got you. So here’s a prayer for you to help you rest tonight. Father, I hand this to you. Give me wisdom for tomorrow and rest for tonight. Again, it’s that simple. Father, I hand this to you. Give me wisdom for tomorrow and rest for tonight. Lie number three. God is disappointing in you. Man, this this hits me so many nights. But the truth is, in Christ, you are loved. I am loved. In Christ, we are forgiven. In Christ, we are adopted. And sometimes there there is conviction. There’s no doubt about that. But conviction from a loving father brings us closer to him so that we can do better and we can be better the next day, the next time. Shame pushes us away. Shame doesn’t come from the Father. Shame comes from Satan. Again, we’re on a spiritual battlefield. Satan wants to drive us away from Christ. He wants to drive us away from God. And so he will use shame. But God will use conviction when he wants us to come closer. I’m not saying that conviction always is gonna feel good, it’s not. But God’s gonna use conviction and say, hey, come on back. You’ve like left the path that I have for you. Come on back. Not in a way of saying, I can’t believe you did this. I’m so disappointed. No. Come on back, I love you. Let’s fix it. Let’s clean it up. Let’s do what we gotta do. God’s not disappointed in you. Look at what it says in Romans. Romans 8, verse 1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, there is no condemnation. None, zero, zilch, nada. It’s not there. God wants you closer. God wants you to be close with Him, growing and chasing after Him. So here’s a prayer. Lord, remove shame. If there is real conviction, I confess it and I receive the mercy and grace that you have for me in abundance. Because that’s what God wants. God wants to give us grace and mercy in abundance. When we truly turn back to Him, His arms are wide open. We’re not far from God. As soon as we turn around and say, God, I want to I want to come back to you. Guess what? We’re gonna run right into His arms because He’s chasing after us all the time. He is, He’s chasing after us all the time. So as soon as we let go of the shame, as soon as we stop running away and we turn around, guess what? We’re gonna run right into His arms because He’s right there with us. The fourth lie. The worst will happen. Oh my gosh, this happens to me all the time. You guys know, and I’ve talked about this on earlier episodes, that when I don’t have all the pieces, when I don’t know the full game board, I always think the worst is gonna happen. Man, I have to fight this at night, I have to fight this during the day. I I’m constantly having to fight this battle. And Kristy is bless her heart, she is always fighting this in prayer. For me, because she knows I struggle with this. And I imagine some of you may struggle with this as well. That if you don’t know all the pieces, if you don’t know the entire game board, that you think the worst is gonna happen. The truth is that fear imagines a future without God. But the peace of God meets you in this space, in this nighttime, in this difficult season when you can’t sleep. Look at what the psalmist says in Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. And I think so many people think about that last phrase. And they get confused by that. But you gotta remember, God is our good shepherd. And what do shepherds have? They have a staff. Sometimes they have a rod. What do they do with that? They use it to help direct the sheep because sometimes sheep are dumb, right? Sometimes they wander off. A good shepherd uses his rod and staff to help nudge them in the right direction to get them back on the path where they need to go. He’s not doing that to bonk them on the head or or to harm them or to hurt them. He’s doing that to help them get where they need to go. That’s why the psalmist says your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Why? Because he knows that when he feels God’s rod and God’s staff, that they’re there to help correct what’s going on. They’re there to help him get back on the right path. So here’s the prayer. God stand and watch over my home. Let your peace guard the doors of my mind. Let your peace guard the doors of my heart. God stand and watch over my home. God stand and watch over my family, over those I love. God stand watch over me because I need you. But it’s one line, God stand and watch over my home. Let your peace guard the doors of my mind. Why is that? So that we can lie down and we can get some rest. Right? That’s the goal, right? So that we can get some rest for tonight and get the energy that we need for tomorrow. The fifth and final lie. Your past defines your future, man oh man. Thank God that my past does not define my future. In fact, the truth is, in Christ, you are a new creation. Tomorrow’s mercies are real. This makes me smile because this is a verse that Jason Schack, a friend of mine, but I don’t just call him a friend, I call him a brother because he truly is a brother to me. When he was youth pastor at my church, this verse that I’m about to read was the anchor verse for our youth group. It’s 2 Corinthians 5 17. It says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here. I’m gonna read it again. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here. Which is a simple prayer. Jesus, write the next line of my story, my past bows to your name. Those are the five um lies that I know that are the biggest struggle for me. If any of these specific lies has surfaced for you or has come to mind, I want you to right now just pause this episode right now. Just pause it and speak the truth out loud. If you aren’t a smart speaker, like an Amazon Echo or something like that, just say pause and then resume when you’re ready. Name the lie and name the truth. So let’s let’s recap it real quick so that this way you have it in front of you. Line number one, you’re alone in this. The truth is that God is near to the brokenhearted and Christ is with you. Line number two, you have to solve everything before morning. And the truth is you can cast your cares on the Lord tonight. Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. But we can attack the day, tomorrow, after we’ve rested tonight. Line number three, God is disappointing in you. And the truth is in Christ you are loved, you are forgiven, you are adopted. Conviction will draw you nearer to God. Shame, which is from the devil, is what pushes you away. Line number four, the worst will happen. And the truth is, fear imagines a future without God. The peace of God meets you in this night. And line number five, your past defines your future. And in truth, in Christ you are a new creation. Tomorrow’s mercies are real. I hope that this is something that has helped you tonight. I hope this is something that has helped you today. If you’re listening to this, maybe on your way to work today, maybe you’re listening to this on your lunch break. Maybe you’re listening to this while you’re cleaning the house or while you’re doing dishes. Wherever you’re listening to this, whenever you’re listening to this, I hope it’s helped you. Please follow us. Please follow the podcast so that you can find this episode again the next time that you are awake at 2 a.m. and you need a reminder of these truths because these truths are true today, they’re true tomorrow, they’re true next week, they’re true next month, they’re true next year, they’re true to the end of time. Don’t believe the lie. Believe in the truth that is rooted in God’s word, that is rooted in Christ Jesus. Say this with me. If if you’re listening to this in the middle of the night, say this with me. I’m gonna go through this slow. Just say this with me. Jesus, I submit myself and this home to you. Anything not from you, leave now in Jesus’ name. Holy Spirit, fill this place with your peace. If tonight is especially heavy, please reach out to us. You can reach out to us on social media, you can leave a comment wherever you’re listening to this, or you can email us at prayer at unshakenministries.org. Please reach out. We would love to pray with you. Now, if you don’t mind, let me just pray with us, let me pray for us tonight so that we can rest, we can get the energy, and we can just truly go forward with the truth that God is with us each and every day and each and every night. May the Lord place his hand on your mind right now and calm the storm, still the storm that may be going on in this moment. May his peace, which is stronger than fear, stand guard through the night. May you lie down and sleep in safety. For the Lord alone makes you dwell secure. So I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. So guys, I hope that this has been helpful. Thank you guys for staying with me tonight. Please write down those verses from Philippians on a sticky note somewhere that you’re gonna see them. I’m gonna read them one more time just because I think it’s so important. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Write that down somewhere. Put it to where you’ll see it every single morning. In fact, put it to where you’ll see it right before you go to bed, so that it’s on your mind as you lay down to go to sleep. Share this episode with someone who fights through the night. Maybe someone who has a tough time sleeping. Let them know that they can send us prayer requests. We do read them, and just know that anytime you need to hear this podcast, this episode, you can always say, Alexa, play this latest Unshaken podcast, and we’ll be right there with you. I love you guys. Hope you guys can sleep tonight, sleep well, wake up tomorrow energized, attack the day, and just know that we love you. Have a great day and have a great rest of your week. We’ll see you next week.