Introduction

Trouble sleeping? There is danger in too little sleep (Prov. 3:24). We wish we could, like Jesus, remain “asleep on the cushion” in a boat tossed by the storm and battered by the waves (Mk. 4:35-40). Yet many people struggle to sleep. Their mind is racing, their heart is clamoring, their teeth are grinding. Doubts, anxiety, and uncertainty immediately fill the mind as if at once, producing accidental thoughts in all shapes and sizes.

For the person tossing and turning, an entire universe of worry erupts in the mind. Secret arrogances are justified with sad simplification. The welter of wordy and worthless events deleteriously replay in the mind. The soul palters with the stale and timid vexation of alarum. The mind lingers in the desert of doubt, never able to find the refreshment of water; never near unclouding the disbelief of the dark hours. The tabulation of the midnight mind—the anxious wandering of mysterious memories—produces little more than false and fantastic shadows of reality. The dregs of sleeplessness hug the chains of slavery by building grave dread of tomorrow’s endlessly repeating tasks. Many counselors lead to wisdom. Pressing the peril of restless thoughts leads to agony.

Sure, maybe they need a physical solution, like melatonin or a sleep aid. They need a good bedtime routine and the same bedtime every night. They should eliminate blue light two hours before bed. All this counts as good sleep hygiene. But good sleep hygiene also contains deep spirituality. 

Three things to remember when you go to sleep

First, remember that God Rewards

“It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2)

Psalm 127:3 goes on to speak of a reward. An example of that reward is in verse 2. God grants sleep to show his love. Solomon is the author of Psalm 127. Having worked unto the Lord, completely dependent upon the Lord, Solomon lies down for a restful night of sleep (Eccl. 5:12). Of course he will sleep well if he works for the Lord and leaves the results of his work in God’s hands (Col. 3:23f). This reveals that there are spiritual reasons God denies the reward of sleep. For example, those who don’t work unto the Lord (Ps. 132:4-5). Or those who do work unto the Lord but don’t trust the Lord’s results. Sleeping is in vain if you don’t work unto the Lord in all things and leave the results of hard work in God’s hands.

Second, remember that God Guards

When someone asked Alexander the Great how he could sleep soundly when he was surrounded by so much personal danger, he replied that Parmenion, his faithful guard, was watching. And he trusted him to keep the watch. How much more soundly should you sleep when God, who never slumbers nor sleeps, is guarding you (Ps. 121:3-4). Your heavenly father is the vigilant watchman. You may sleep. But God is awake. Nothing will snatch you out of his hand (Jn. 10:28). Do not be anxious about your life (Mt. 6:25-34). The wakeful eye of God is over you for your good in the hours of occupation and hurry, in the conflicts and perils of the day, in the glare and heat of the noonday, and in the helplessness of sleep.

It is true that the ones who assail Israel neither sleep nor slumber. Jesus said in the parable of the weeds, “While his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds” (Mt. 13:25). When the enemy is active, when danger awaits, the Lord, who is your confidence, will make you unfearful, unafraid, and able to enjoy sweet sleep (Prov. 3:21-27). So we can pray the words of Psalm 31:5 before bed, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

And that is why the Keeper of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers. Since God is not asleep, you can take it all to the Lord—everything, all the time, right now. The Lord can give you rest. In the Lord’s perfect love, which is beyond comprehension, there is perfect peace (Ps. 4:8). So, when you can’t sleep, recognize your utter dependence on God, remember that he is awake, he is with you, and even if your body refuses to rest, your soul can take rest in the comforting presence of God. Even if many thousands of enemies set themselves against you, lay down and sleep and trust that the Lord will sustain you (Ps. 3:5-6). 

Third, remember that God comforts

Sleeplessness may occur not because of a lack of trust in God but because of great distress. The Great High Priest himself experienced a night without sleep in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mk. 14:32-42). Jesus was distressed by the cup of wrath he was about to drink, so he pleaded that the cup would pass from him. He met the greatest suffering the world has ever seen and he can sympathize with your distress. 

Grief is a reason someone might lose sleep. The loss of a loved one, especially, torments sleep. The God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3-7) has a special grace for those who mourn. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt. 5:4). God restores the fortunes of the grieving. God says, “I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” Then Jeremiah awoke, looked, and said, “My sleep was pleasant to me” (Jer. 31:23). God gives strength in weakness (Ps. 84:5; 2 Cor. 12:9). When Elijah despaired to the point of death, God restored him through the gift of sleep, a snack, and a nap (1 Kgs. 19:1-6). The revitalizing gift of sleep is for all the distressed. 

Conclusion

When you sleep, you become like the infant that Jesus took in his arms and blessed (Mk. 10:13-16; Lk. 18:15-17). Childhood is marked by helplessness and dependence. Jesus’ disciples are to “receive the kingdom of God like a child” (Mk. 10:15), as those who are dependent on God for salvation. Mothers brought small children to Jesus, who took the babies in his arms. They lay happy in Jesus’ arms in their helpless dependence. So too, the Kingdom of God is filled with those who are happily and helplessly dependent on the King of the Kingdom. We ought to enter the Kingdom of God like a child enters the world: completely dependent. We are to receive the Kingdom in the way an infant receives help. Infants are dependent on their parents. They lay there and happily receive their mother’s gift of help. Adults, often, are hesitant to receive help. They say, “You shouldn’t have” or “I can’t accept this help.” That’s why infants, not adults, are models of how the Kingdom of God is to be received. 

Not only are trust and dependence required to understand God but complete faith in God provides the blessing of restful sleep. Sleep is not a break from the burdens of law-keeping. Sleep is not the end of your obedience. It is the moment of your day when you are most dependent on your Creator. God made people who require sleep, a biological reminder of how dependent we are. Roughly one-third of the human life is spent like a dead person. In the Bible, sleep is sometimes a euphemism for death (Dt. 31:16; Jn. 11:13; 1 Thess. 4:13-18), which means every morning you wake up from your slumber, you are a type of resurrection life, leaving behind the burdens of the past for a new day of serving Christ, who is your rest.