This all started with reading a Bible verse in Isaiah. The bed is too short on which to stretch out; the blanket is too small to cover you (Isaiah 28:20).
Have you ever slept in a bed too small for your body?
I will spare you the circumstances which found me searching for a resting place somewhere other than my king-size bed.
This night was going to be even more of a challenge than when I was in the doghouse back home. At least that came equipped with a comfortable pet bed.
I experienced the feelings of sharing a home with Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Unlike her, I had no other options. I was assigned Baby Bear’s bed. It was definitely NOT “just right.”
This was no FAIRY TALE. The only bed available was more the size of a shadowbox with a doll’s pillow. The only blanket resembled a bath towel more than a twin bed comforter. This had to be the Tom Thumb suite.
The bed was TOO SHORT to stretch out my perfect sized body. The blanket was TOO SMALL to cover my shivering body parts.
Baby Bear’s bed looked like a taco shell waiting for the addition of condiments. I squeezed in as I bumped my head on the headboard. My body protested strongly, as if pro-MAGA and anti-ICE protestors were fighting for the same parking space.
My feet dangled off the edge in open mutiny, looking like overcooked spaghetti hanging from the side of a pot in the kitchen sink. My knees, not wanting to be left out, decided to fold themselves at a right angle, which is apparently the international sign for “This is not going to work.”
My elbows stuck out over the sides. Every time I exhaled, the springs let out a symphony of squeaks that sounded suspiciously like a broken accordion.
The small bed did not offer an option to sleep on my back or stomach. The neon sign flashed, “Sideways only.” The pillow, meant to support my head, was just big enough to cradle half my face, so I had to choose between comfort for my left cheek or my right—never both.
Turning over could have been mistaken for an Olympic ice-skating event. Every time I tried to switch sides, I performed a maneuver that could best be described as “the reverse burrito.”
The bed might have doubled as a mini fridge. When I pulled the tiny cover up, my feet froze. When I slid the blanket down, my nose became an icicle. It took only three or four times for me to realize there is no possibility of this kiddy blanket growing up tonight. I felt as if I were on an episode of Survivor: Pick your Poison. Hypothermia or pneumonia.
I decided to keep the important stuff covered and take my chances.
I attempted every possible body configuration: diagonally across the bed, fetal position, upside down, spread eagle, and sitting up. Every twist and turn created more creaking sounds from the bed accompanied by cracking noises from my arthritic joints.
Somehow, I managed to tangle my blanket covered twisted body parts into a pretzel mummy position, cutting off blood circulation. I rolled out of the bed onto the floor as I attempted to unwrap myself from the blanket.
I hit the floor with a loud thud similar to the sound of dropping a block of ice from a two-story window onto a concrete sidewalk. Fortunately, my nighttime crash disturbed no one. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
At some point, I managed to fall asleep. I only know that because of the scene which welcomed me to the morning sun. My uncovered legs were connected to the floor by my frozen feet. One arm was wedged between the mattress and the wall. My spine would remain shaped like a question mark for the next two days.
I now understand what it feels like to sleep inside a carry-on suitcase.
Did you know that the #1 Textbook has a teaching verse for this situation?
The bed is too short on which to stretch out; the blanket is too small to cover you (Isaiah 28:20).
Duh! This was not commentary on my sleeping situation. It was God’s revelation of truth to those who do not believe God is enough to bank one’s entire life upon when faced with real life issues of security and riches.
This is God’s Little Bedtime Storyabout Goldilocks living in a self-centered home with culturally borrowed philosophies. Her idea of what feels right and what feels wrong constantly changes. Eventually, God’s family of Truth discover her seeking nighttime rest in a bed that is too short with a blanket that is too small.
The context of this analysis is Isaiah’s preaching to the liberal Northern Kingdom and the conservative Southern Kingdom of Israel, both living in spiritual drunkenness (chapter 28:7-11). Facing similar challenges to our current circumstances, they lived in fear, not faith.
They wrestled with the same question. IS GOD ENOUGH?
The issue is beautifully embedded between the warnings of impending judgment.
The Sovereign LORD says, “I have placed a sure foundation stone to build your life on. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe. Whoever believes will never be shaken. (v. 16).
The #1 Textbook summarizes the main message of each Little Bedtime Story in two words. TRUST GOD!
That was Isaiah’s God-sent message to Israel in their time of trouble. Trust God! Whoever believes will NEVER be shaken (v.16).
What are you supposed to do in this world of constant conflicts, cultural challenges, and changing circumstances? TRUST GOD!
Why? Because God is trustworthy and cares about you.
Why is that so difficult in daily practice? Nothing in our culture encourages us to trust God completely for all our needs and desires. Just as in Isaiah’s time, the culture demands we accept alliances to further our well-being.
Trusting in God alone is considered a bad risk. That stock rating is shrinking while the rest of the world markets surge upward and onward.
Our lives are controlled by worldly fears, not faith in God. Our bed of trust is controlled by Wall Street. Our bed of desire is controlled by Hollywood. Our bed of worship is controlled by our culture.
Israel embraced that same lifestyle of looking elsewhere for security and wealth. The names of their influential places were different, but not their choices.
God sent Isaiah to confront the futility of the religious and political leaders’ promises of comfort and contentment. Their speeches were lies and deceptions; their solutions were inadequate and misguided (vs. 15, 17).
The vivid imagery illustrates how the people who should be trusting in God had created metaphorical “cultural beds” that are too short to provide spiritual rest (v 22).
Their human wisdom substituted for God’s #1 Textbook was too small to provide safe protection for their lives. It was as foolish as suggesting a miniature blanket could sufficiently cover the Grand Canyon.
Into that spiritual mess, God reveals the supremacy and sufficiency of His help which is guaranteed to all who trust God alone for their security and riches.
It comes with a call to decide. Decide what? IS GOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? Decide right now.
You need to decide what is important in your life. This is referred to as the crown of your life (vs. 1-4). The crown of Northern Israel was its wealth and ease of life epitomized by its crown city of Samaria. Their prosperity and pleasures and pride became a spiritual drunkenness which left them defenseless against the future invasion of the powerful Assyrian army.
Amid impending destruction and cultural desolation, a remnant of people would decide that God is their crown of glory (greatness and goodness) in this world (vs. 5-6). For them, God will be enough.
What about your Treasure? Can this world take it away? Do you live in fear of losing your share of the riches? Or is God enough no matter what political group is in power or which direction the stock market is trending?
The riches and entertainment of this culture are fading flowers and fake beauty (v. 1).
Southern Israel was also reeling in spiritual drunkenness, failing to trust God’s #1 Textbook. They followed man-centered wisdom, popular philosophies, and culturally influenced morality. They could no longer agree on what was right and wrong. It changed with the prevalent winds of the culture (vs. 7-11).
They laughed at the concept of absolute truth from God’s Word. They adapted their lifestyles to fit their preferences, and they looked to outside alliances to secure their safety. They refused to listen to God-centered preaching and rejected any message to trust God as childish simplicity, fairy tales, and baby gibberish. They chose to believe political lies and religious deceptions to secure their prosperity and safety (vs. 12-15).
They would end up defenseless in the time of testing.
How do you respond to the reading and preaching of God’s Word? Is it your sure foundation and sufficient guide in life? Or do you place more trust in CNN or FOX or Wall Street or The View?
The #1 Textbook is clear. Jesus is the promised foundation and precious cornerstone (v. 16; Matthew 21: 42; Acts 4:10-11). Jesus is the only place to find rest for your soul (Matthew 11:29).
A BED THAT IS TOO SHORT CANNOT PROVIDE REST. There is no rest for those trusting in the pretense of worship based on self-centered preferences and cultural alliances.
- Why are we surprised at the social unrest in our nation?
- Why do we search for human solutions to the unrest in our souls?
IS GOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? DO YOU FEEL SAFE AND RICH WITH GOD ALONE?
Your answer is not conveyed by what you say, but by how you live and what you love.
Lord, we show our trust in you by loving obedience and our heart’s desire is to glorify your name (Isaiah 26:8).
God’s sufficiency in your life empowers you to bring wisdom and goodness into this world of spiritual drunkenness.
I hope my Little Bedtime Story of sleeping in a bed too small might remind you as it did me. There are things more important than a comfortable night of bed rest.
Spiritual complacency is dangerous. Spiritual compromise is deadly.
The size of your bed and blanket depend on the answer to this question.
IS GOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? DO YOU FEEL SAFE AND RICH WITH GOD ALONE?
TRUST GOD!
I close with another Little Bedtime Story from the #1 Textbook.
THE LORD SAVES SINNERS. That is a Sure Foundation and a Precious Cornerstone for your life.
THE LORD gives all He is and all He has to cover your life with a blanket of immeasurable goodness whenever and wherever you sleep tonight.
You do not have to be perfect to sleep well; but you do need a perfect resting place for your soul, one with a divinely approved foundation that is RELIABLE (sure) and VALUABLE (precious).
THE LORD SAVES SINNERS. Make that truth the bedrock of your salvation, every day and every night.
This Little Bedtime Story has been Goldilocks Approved. “This is just right.”
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 