When I was a teenager, my mind was rampant with theoretical “what ifs.” I could spend countless minutes pondering how my next day would play out. Overthinking was the norm in my life, and this led to an unnecessary amount of anxiety. What do my friends think of me? How will my next exam or presentation go? When and how will my parents scold me for my lack of academic achievements?
Whenever there was a test the next day, I would lose a lot of sleep because I was overly anxious, even if the test wasn’t worth much. This mentality was exacerbated when I became mentally ill. I could be utterly exhausted, yet my brain would not shut down. It would constantly jump from one train of thought to another. I remember one night when it got so bad that my head literally felt like it would explode. My thoughts were racing as if they were in a Formula 1 race, and there was no way to put on the brakes. It was honestly painful, and I didn’t have a way to calm down. That night, I was genuinely scared.
Then a thought came to mind: I must rely on God. Amid the sea of thoughts, I tried my best to concentrate on one phrase: “Hallelujah, praise the Lord.” Although my thoughts couldn’t stop, I kept repeating that phrase in my mind—over and over again, with the same persistence as a child asking for the Holy Spirit. There were times when my mind would wander off, and I could feel the thoughts ramping up again. But thank God, whenever I returned to the phrase “Hallelujah, praise the Lord,” my mind began to slow down.
At first, I repeated the phrase as quickly as I could to keep my rampant thoughts at bay. To my surprise, it worked. My thoughts incrementally slowed down. Over time, I was able to repeat the phrase slower and slower, and eventually, I fell asleep. It was through the faith I placed in Jesus by repeating “Hallelujah, praise the Lord” that the Lord gave me the power to overcome my racing thoughts.
After this experience, I began using the method of praising God in my heart and mind to fall asleep. It has been highly effective in fighting my sleep deprivation. I am someone who struggles to fall asleep, but every night I praise God, I fall asleep before I even realize it. There’s also a deep faith I place in God whenever I call on Him because He is the One who grants me sleep—and to a greater extent, keeps my mental health in a good state.
This reminds me of a passage in Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV):
“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD God is an everlasting rock.”
The verse tells us that those who keep their minds on God will receive peace and that we must put our trust in Him. When we continually trust in God, He becomes our everlasting rock—a rock that shall not be moved and a refuge in times of trouble. I learned to fully trust in God to help me fall asleep so that my health can improve holistically.
Praise and thanks be to God—my life has taken a turn for the better ever since I learned how to rely on God, my everlasting Rock, to fall asleep.
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