Are you awake? I am. It’s 4:47 a.m.
I just have to share. I woke up an hour ago and did it again.
The clock said 3:27 when I was hit with this “brilliant” business idea. It’s amazing the clarity I have when the world is dark and still.
Knowing from experience that if these nocturnal musings weren’t captured they would be forever lost, I decided to NOT roll over and go back to sleep. Instead, I listened for any inspiration the Lord might be whispering, especially regarding some things I’d been mulling over for days.
3:31 a.m. – Samuel-like, I waited. “Speak, Lord. Your servant hears.”
He did.
Or at least I think He did.
3:56 a.m. – For 25 minutes, I dreamt and prayed about a new way that I might be able to help Christian coaches succeed with their marketing plans.
3:57 a.m. – I hopped out of bed. Okay, maybe it was more of a stumble. I grabbed my journal and scribbled desperately before the fleeting thoughts flew.
4:09 a.m. – Every juicy morsel captured, I couldn’t resist checking out my ideas by looking up related domain names on GoDaddy.com.
Putting out a 21st century fleece, I decided that if there was an even remotely related .com domain name available this was surely of the Lord.
4:11 a.m. – Eureka! I found a .com domain under today’s typical 2,003 characters, and one that actually made sense when spoken out loud. There can’t be many of those left.
4:11:05 a.m. – I quickly clicked the name and put it in my shopping cart before the thundering hordes woke up and beat me to it.
4:12 a.m. – Safe. I plunked down $5.99 for my domain of choice.
It’s mine. All mine.
It must have been a sign. God is truly in this thing.
4:13 a.m. – As I was leaving GoDaddy, I decided to check my account to see if there were any other inspired domain names that I had reserved in the past. There were.
43.
Yep, as in almost 50 other nocturnally chosen names, all of which seemed “brilliant” in the wee morning hours of other sleepless nights.
Maybe this wasn’t of the Lord.
Maybe it was just indigestion.
Only time will tell.
4:32 a.m. – I decide to be cheerfully optimistic that at 6:08 when the sun rises the plan will still seem sound.
Either way, it’s fun being in business with the God of the universe.
He never sleeps.
4:47 a.m. – Yawn. Maybe I’ll go just rest my eyes for a minute now. I’ve been working hard.
Thanks for keeping me company in the middle of the night.
Hey Kim: I had a a few of those 4:00am times, I sleep so well and am not the morning person. I usually lay there quietly and “wait” then names start flooding my brain, people I start praying for. Sometimes I go back to sleep. It’s a peaceful time and I try not to think of how tired I will be by 6pm 🙂 have a great day and peaceful night. It really is ok if it’s God waking me and not some-one else!
Hi Eva –
I agree. Those special times with the Lord are worth waking up for. Thankfully, God is so gracious that I’m rarely even tired the next day. How cool is that?
I started keeping a pen and notepad by my bed recently for those very nights that my brain just won’t turn off and let me sleep. Then I can write my ideas down real quick and try to go back to sleep without worrying I’m going to forget!
Ah… simple but brilliant! I love it.
I totally agree. I can hear God’s voice best in the middle of the night when the house is quiet. That is when I get my best work done. Thanks for a great blog post – sweet dreams tonight!
Hi Debi – Your comment got me thinking that maybe the middle of the night is the best time in our noisy world to “Be Still, and know that He is God.”
I literally had to laugh out loud at the domain name discovery! I too have rushed over to GoDaddy in the middle of the night panicking and worried that someone else may have been inspired at the exact time as me. I do believe we can hear from the Lord in the still of the night but with a growing collection of domain names I’m going to wait until morning before purchasing anymore.
Thank you for making me feel better :). It’s good to know that I’m not the only one.
I love the way you were obedient to the Lord. Even if it wasn’t Him, you were obedient to what you thought was probably Him and He will honor that!!
Great point, Cheryl. Thanks for the encouragement.
This is so awesome! My mentor that is worth half a billion dollars works from 2-4 am almost every nite. There is something to that for sure.:)
Kiyla Fenell
Half a billion dollars? I could get up every morning from 2-4 for that :).
This is a funny post and I can definitely relate! I keep a pen and paper beside my bed for moments like you have described. I am sure that you will use some of those wonderful domain names lol
Hi LaGina –
Thanks for the optimism. I certainly hope some of them will be put to good use 🙂
This doesn’t happen to me much so when it does I feel like there is a reason. Usually, God has prompted me to pray for someone. There has been a time or two that I have found out that something was going on at that time for the person I prayed for. I had no idea, but God did. God doesn’t waste our time and when we are awakened in the middle of the night, God has a plan for it! I love that you are talking about this!
Hi Cindy,
What a great reminder that God doesn’t waste anything. I’ve been having a lot of sleepless nights recently and it’s a blessing to remember that He has a purpose in everything.