“Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear came on me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.”

Job 4:12-14

Perhaps you have also experienced night time panic attacks, sometimes known as nocturnal panic attack. The mind stumbles on hurt and bad memory and will rehearse a series of thoughts and feelings which are very distressing. The heart beats very hard and rapidly and thoughts of death and hell are never far away. The thought treadmills lead the mind down into depressive thought patterns and cause the mind and body great pain.

There seems to be nothing we can do about it but ride out the storm and wait for the body to get out of the panic mode. Is this what Job experienced in these night experiences? Sleep disappears and only sorrow is left. The mind rehearses things that are deeply troubling and cause a lot of anxiety. This triggers the physical symptoms and the thoughts race and tumble out of the mind and down into ever decreasing circles of doom.

We can think of all sorts of gloomy things that could happen and the mind rehearse its deep fear and failings. It is catastrophic thoughts that cascade down into the depths and register on a strong scale of panic and delusion. Fear generated by the thoughts grip the heart in fear and our body reacts in fear and panic. We must ride out the storm and wait for the panic to be over. It leaves us fearful and exhausted and far from sleep. The thoughts search for meaning and rest, but there is little to be found. The relief of the day dawns and we can get up and seek the normality of our daily routines. It does not happen every night, and it is impossible to predict when it will happen, and this can cause us to fear going to bed at night. Perhaps it is a side effect of drug use, as prescribed drugs are still not completely understood and the mind certainly isn’t. Perhaps it is a trick of the mind as it seeks to sort out hurts and problems that have accumulated in the day.

I don’t know what triggers this series of panics but they eventually fade away, perhaps as we resolve difficulties in our life, they just stop. We must face all these troubles in the faith that binds us to the Lord who made us. There are experiences that only He can understand and we must just trust Him and what He is doing in our life. His purposes are to get our comfort in Him alone and to strengthen our faith and spiritual resilience.

“Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress”

Psalm 3:1

Growth can be painful but in the end gives confidence and resilience to face deep sorrows. God will not allow us to be tested beyond the bounds of our faith in Him. He is strengthening His people everyday and showing them the narrow path that leads to life. We can only face the day, or the night, in His strength and can lie down in confidence that He is in control. In my life, He has separated me from a lot of the hurts and is strengthening me every day and showing me my continual need of Him.

Perhaps you are going through a phase of this experience just now and I would encourage you to hold on until it passes over. Keep laying the situation out before God for He knows our secret depths of thought and feeling and can bring us through. God designs distress to purify and strengthen faith so that we continue to trust in Him in all circumstances. Let us hold on tightly to the promises in the Word of God that He will never leave us to suffer alone. He is always there, even in the darkest night.

“Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

God’s presence does not just cover the physical things in life, but all our struggles in the mind also. He has the depth of knowledge and insight and He seeks that we might have that deep wisdom too. As we face our fears and try to understand, so He draws close and will “enlarge” our ability to cope and make us over-comers through the tempest that has come over us. Let us be content with the burdens we have to bear and learn to roll them all over onto Christ.

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful.”

1 Peter 5:6-8

As we humble ourselves before the Lord and seek His right way in our life, so He will lift up our spirit and make us more resilient. He is a God to be trusted and we must lower the mood of our mind to acquiesce to Him and obey Him. We are to be sober-minded people, watchful in all our behaviour and exercise self-control as we live lives for His glory and not our own sinful desires. Those who stand the test of these things are made strong and able to shoulder the pains of life with great fortitude. These are the purposes of God in suffering. Let us hold on and watch our faith grow. Pains do not last forever and God is over all.