April 15: When Fear Won't Let You Sleep

It’s late, the house is quiet, and your mind won’t stop running through everything that could go wrong tomorrow.

Sleep can be hard in recovery. For a long time, alcohol was how many people got to sleep, or at least passed out. Without it, the body has to relearn rest, and the mind has its first quiet in years to fill with worries. It does get better with time. If sleep stays very bad, talk to a doctor.

Jesus’ words here are almost funny in how practical they are. Don’t be anxious for tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

He isn’t saying tomorrow won’t have problems. He says it will. He’s just saying you can’t carry tomorrow’s trouble tonight. You don’t have tomorrow’s strength yet. You only have today’s, and today is almost over.

Recovery has its own version of this: one day at a time. It’s not a slogan to make things sound easy. It’s how people actually stay sober. You can’t stay sober next month. You can stay sober today.

If you’re lying awake, try this. Turn on a small light and write your fears down. Not in a long journal entry. Just a list. Getting them out of your head and onto paper tells your mind it doesn’t have to keep holding them. Many of them can go on your Step Four fear list in the morning.

Then give the list to God. Out loud if you can, quietly if you can’t. Here’s tomorrow. It’s Yours. I’ll pick it up in the morning.

If you use the Steps & Scripture app, you can set a gentle evening reminder to stop, pray and put the day down before bed. Either way, a regular wind-down helps: screens off, a short prayer, the same time each night.

Tonight is enough. Tomorrow will come with its own grace.

One thing today

Before bed, write down whatever is worrying you about tomorrow. Then pray: this is Yours until morning. Turn off the light.

A prayer

Jesus, my mind won’t settle. You told me not to carry tomorrow tonight, and I’m trying. Take these worries. Give me rest, and meet me in the morning. Amen.

Fears belong on the inventory too: Step Four.

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