Ah Sleep

I like the quiet at night when everyone is asleep. There is a gentleness outside as people crawl into their beds to rest from the day. If I step outside with the dogs, I can hear the nocturnal animals waking up for their part of the day. Rabbits call to each other to look out for the dogs. An owl screeches like a patrol car, rounding up a vermin snack. An armadillo shuffles through the leaves in search of worms and grubs. Back by the pond a group of frogs start their do-wop serenade. Finally a battalion of mosquitoes chases me inside; their tiny engines whining in my ears.

Life goes on while you sleep. People work night-shifts, get up with colicky babies and click away on the internet. Eventually even they will sleep. Humans will die from lack of sleep. Their bodies cannot take the stress; the brain must debrief the day in your dreams. You have to rest sometime.

But God, He does not rest. His day is like a thousand years, his thousand years like a day. (2 Peter 3:8) He watches over all. He is with the sick trying to rest in a busy hospital. He comforts the little one trembling from the monster in the closet. He sees the man on the Internet, coaxing a young wayward teen to meet and sets a trap for him. He is with the soldier on his watch, scanning the horizon for movement. And He is with me as I pray for my family.

He is never too busy for the smallest problem. If God takes care of even the smallest of animals, why would He not care about your rest? (Matt 10:29-31)

He is never caught napping unawares. (Psalms 121:3) He is the parent in the other room, guarding the house as His children sleep. And I wonder, would you dare to trust Him with your rest? You ask Him to win the lotto, to protect your kids and heal a critically ill friend. Why not ask Him for simple rest? Do you think it's too mundane a request? Do you think He's too busy with wars and criminals? No, God created sleep for His children. Sometimes that's the only time He can get you to listen to Him. And you wonder why some of your best ideas come in your dreams! (Job 33:14-18)

Tonight, before you close your eyes, ask Him to be by your side as you chase sleep. Then take a few deep breaths, be still, and know that He is God. (Psalms 46:10)

But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the LORD with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. Psalm 3:3-5