Have you ever had a dream where you were falling down from a great height? It is said that those who are afraid of high places (which I am) have had some kind of dream like that somewhere along the line of life. Many times when we have a dream such as that, we awake very suddenly, and then have a feeling of dread or terror. Usually this only happens with children, but it can happen with adults, too.
I read once about a man who had this sensation as soon as he went to sleep. His sleep was so rudely interrupted that he was afraid to go back to sleep. He feared he would die, and he imagined himself falling into a bottomless pit.
Then one evening as he was strolling through a cemetery, he saw this phrase engraved on a tombstone: “I have no fear or dread, Underneath are the Everlasting Arms of God.” These words reminded him that when Christians die, they are safely in the arms of the Living God (just like when we are alive). He recalled the assurance of the psalmist, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).
Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” We are assured that when we are falling, or we when feel like we are falling, the Lord catches us and shelters us with His everlasting arms.
So what happened to the once fearful man? He realized that in life and in death – and even in sleep – the “everlasting arms” of our loving Lord are there to catch us and hold us. He was reminded of a childhood song with the line, “Help me to live that I may fear the grave as much as I do my own bed!” At last, the man could fall asleep without any fear or trepidation. We trust God in the light; let’s trust Him in the darkness as well.
