Sleep

Ps 127:2 "In vain you get up early and stay up late, eating food earned by hard work; certainly he gives sleep to the one He loves."

I slept soundly last night for the first time in a long while. God gave me permission to sleep in a little today. For weeks on end we have lived life in the fast lane. Work, cooking, cleaning, mowing, powerlifting meets, track meets, and church. There have been weeks we can't find time to go get groceries until late at night. We have not even had time to celebrate Brenda's birthday which was yesterday. We can't do it tonight or tomorrow and Sunday is full as well.

By nature I am an early riser. I get up early and am looking for the bed around 9:00 p.m. when possible. When I awoke today I had a mental list of all the things I needed to do. A long list. An impossible list. I knew the first thing to do was to seek God. I laid out all the plans for the day and asked him where I should best exert my energy. His answer surprised me. "Get some more sleep."

That seemed an inefficient use of time. Then I read this verse. It dawned on me whether I am awake or sleep God is still working. I cannot tell you how much this comforted my heart. It brought peace. I went back for a short nap thinking as my head hit the pillow, "God, you are at work. While my body and mind are tired you are still at work. You are orchestrating the events of the day. You are at work in all the areas that weigh heavy on my mind. I can sleep in peace because you don't stop working just because I sleep."

How many of you do not sleep well at night tossing and turning in the bed as you mull over problems, challenges, fears, and anxieties? God loves you and one of his great gifts to us is sleep. Now I know some would read this and take this to an extreme form justifying laziness. That is not my intent. I am talking about that sleep that we all need to recharge, recover, and get refreshed for the next day.

I see it in the eyes and on the faces of people all the time. They are stressed. They are weary. They are worn down by the trials of life. How many wake up each day feeling just as tired as they did the night before. How many hear the alarm clock and think, "It is already morning. I feel like I just went to sleep." Some never sleep through a whole night uninterrupted. They get up in the middle of the night for a few hours before drifting back into a deep sleep when it is time to get up and start the day.

God gives those he loves sleep. He grants those who trust him the peaceful gift of rest over night. What a blessing. We all got in late last night from Tucker's district Jr. High track meet. We all slept soundly. And while we all slept God worked on answers to prayers we have brought before him. I could see certain things we have asked God for taking shape as I drifted back to sleep this morning.

We work so hard trying to get ahead. We push our bodies to the limit with little time to recover. We feel the the pressure to perform, to excel, to press on. God can do more for us while we trust him in our sleep than we do in a lifetime trying to make things happen in our own strength.

I am all for hard work. I am also for trusting God. I also know we have limits and many of us are running on fumes. I thank God that he loves me enough to let me sleep and that while I rest he is still on the job. Peaceful dreams to you all.