Lessons from Sleep

Several years ago, when our daughters were still very young, something happened that made quite an impression on me. I don’t remember if we were traveling somewhere or back home from somewhere, but as I was driving, I noticed that everyone in the car was sound asleep. I looked over at my wife in the passenger seat and she was out. Then I moved the rear-view mirror so I could see both the girls in their car seats, and though they were toddlers, the girls were (as they say) sleeping like babies. That moment was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. That may sound silly to you, but it was alarming to me. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but seeing them asleep and knowing they were trusting their entire well-being to me was a remarkable moment. Understand, I am just a man … a weak, fallen, sinful man who could easily make a bad decision, wrong turn, or get road rage and put my entire family in jeopardy. So, it was somewhat scary that these people, who I love so dearly, trusted me enough to shut their eyes and sleep, while we were barreling down the road at 70MPH.  And yet – they did. They trusted me. They had confidence I would do my best to keep them safe, so they shut their eyes and rested. 

Isn’t there a theological lesson for us to learn in that experience? As we have written about sleep over the last few weeks from a Biblical perspective, one of the things I have tried to emphasize to you is that sleep is a teacher. It offers us much instruction if we listen and learn. We have already noted that sleep reminds us that we are not God. Instead, we are finite creatures that need rest to function. God does not. He neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4). But not only does sleep remind us of our humanity and frailty, it also teaches us that God can be trusted. 

Christian, how many nights have you shut your eyes to sleep and woken up safely? How many hours of your life have you spent unconscious and slumbering, and God has protected you when you couldn’t protect yourself? Seriously, have you ever thought about just how vulnerable we are while we are sleeping? I don’t mean to scare you and rob you of sleep, but understand, you are never more helpless than when you sleep. And yet, like my kids snoozing in the car, we Christians can shut our eyes at night and rest well because a Perfect, Heavenly Father is watching over us. While we lie there dormant and defenseless, the Sovereign God of the Universe is standing guard over His little ones. Born-again believer, you can lay your head down on the pillow at night and trust that God will take care of you. 

Which leads to yet another lesson we learn from sleep – we should be thankful. We should be grateful that God not only guides us during the day, but He guards us at night. Every single time we open our eyes to a new dawn, we should give God praise for watching over us while we sleep. Sadly, far too often we roll out of bed without a moment’s thought and take God’s faithful nightly watchman duty for granted. It would serve us well to end each day with a word of praise for God’s goodness and to begin each day with a word of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness. 

I intend to conclude our series on sleep in next week’s article, but I would like to quickly recap what we have already covered. Folks, we spend roughly 1/3rd of our lives asleep, and God’s Word is far from silent on a subject that consumes so much of our time. Sleep is a good gift from a good God that is to be used and not abused. However, most Americans are not sleeping long enough or soundly enough, and this matters because rest has a significant impact on our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. While there are often seasons and situations beyond our control that hinder our sleep, we should do what we can to be good stewards of our bodies and get the rest we need. A redeemed soul, a trusting heart, a clear conscience, a renewed mind, and a tired body will help you sleep at night. 

But also … sleep teaches us that God can be trusted. Friends, the Almighty merits our faith. If my wife and kids can shut their eyes and sleep soundly while I’m driving, Christian, you should be able to shut your eyes and rest well each night throughout the journey of life. You don’t have to be afraid of what might happen in the middle of the night. God never dozes off. There is no fear of Him falling asleep at the wheel. You don’t have to worry about Him making a wrong turn or a bad decision and endangering you. Instead, when God’s children turn out the light and crawl under the covers each night, they can rest well knowing the ever-watchful eyes of a Faithful Father can and will take good care of His own. And this knowledge should lead to a thankful heart. 

There is no safer place to sleep than in the loving hands of a Sovereign God. Put your faith in Him and rest well.