by Linda Cox


I laughed till I hurt. The last thing I saw as my Boston Terrier, Mr. Buster von Baer, disappeared over the back of the sofa was four doggie feet sticking up in the air. Apparently the warmth of the sunshine had lulled him into a deep sleep as he lay precariously on the back of the sofa. And then he rolled over. The wrong way. Thankfully onto a pile of pillows.


It’s easy to fall asleep in the sunshine. Been there myself. And while that makes for a pleasant nap, there are places where falling asleep won’t provide either a pleasant nap or a soft pillow to land on.


We can be lulled deceptively to sleep if we allow questionable practices into our personal life, even our church or national life. How easily they can become sinful habits which pull us away from the truth of God’s Word. Maybe it’s a questionable book to read, movie to watch, song to listen to, place to frequent, person to hang out with. Even a pastor who doesn’t preach God’s Word. Or laws that don’t protect the innocent.


Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked ….


Just “walking by” something questionable can’t hurt us, can it? But then we walk by again. And again.


… or stand in the way of sinners …


Soon we find that, instead of “walking by,” we are “standing” in that questionable place for longer periods of time.


… or sit in the seat of mockers. Psalm 1:1


And then we find ourselves “sitting” there, getting comfortable until we accept, even enjoy “it.” So comfortable, in fact, that we fall asleep. And roll right off the back of the sofa, just like Mr. Buster.


But unlike Mr. Buster, we may not land on soft pillows. The consequences of our fall may stay with us. And that sinful habit may be very hard to break.


What’s sad is that our fall could have been avoided if we had only heeded the Psalmist’s words in verse two.


But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night.


Delighting in God’s Word, meditating on it, and storing it in our hearts can keep us from falling asleep in the wrong places.


But even when we do, as we invariably will, we have a faithful Savior who will pick us up, dust us off, and grace our restored life with His Sonshine. Now that’s a comfortable place to be.



Linda Cox is a regular contributor to DivineDetour. She recently retired after twenty-five years as a district office secretary for the State of Illinois. Her first loves are studying the Bible and reading, but Linda occasionally tries her hand at writing. Her work is published in All My Bad Habits I Learned from Grandpa (Thomas Nelson), The One-Year Life Verse Devotional (Tyndale), Life Lessons from Grandparents (Write Integrity) and the Love Is a Verb devotional (Bethany House). She and her husband live on a farm with their two indoor/outdoor farm mutts.