Sleep
| Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalms4:6-8 ) |
The problem is that when we are weary in body, mind and soul, the weariness of the mind and soul can make it hard for us to sleep. We struggle to get to sleep, or we wake up at 2AM or 4AM and toss and turn. Some weary souls manage to sleep but struggle with nightmares or end up grinding their teeth in their sleep.
So, sleep, while an obvious and theoretically simple cure or aid to weariness, can often be complicated and elusive.
There's all sorts of practical advice for sleeping well: Darken the room thoroughly, go to bed at a regular time, avoid screen time just before bed, quiet your soul with thanksgiving and so on. These and many other tips are helpful, but I think we need to go deeper...
We need to understand the nature of sleep and God's purpose for it.
When we sleep we surrender control. While we sleep, the world continues revolving and the machinery of society and industry keeps ticking. Sleep is, in many ways, the ultimate act of trust: "Lord I'm going to close my eyes and let my brain go into neutral self-care and tidy-up mode. I am vulnerable and passive in this time but I trust in You and I believe that You will work while I sleep. So this is in Your hands O Lord." To sleep is surrender.
Our Psalm for today seems to have been written at a time of national upheaval and calamity and at one point David says: "Many are asking, 'Who can show us any good?'" Yet he is able to affirm that he will lie down and sleep, secure in the goodness of God.
So, if sleep is what you need, approach it as I have suggested above. Create a going to bed routine. Give thanks for all that is good and hand over to God - "Lord I'm going to sleep now, but I believe that I am secure in Your love and that while I'm sleeping, You will work in me and my circumstances."
You could have the best sleep of your life!
