Issue 1240 – Sleepless Nights – September 5, 2023
Sleep comes easily to me some nights, and I drift off into blessed slumber. Other times, it is a little more elusive, and sometimes it just doesn’t come at all. That’s just one of the many residual effects of my brain injuries.
Sleep deprivation can lead to all sorts of nasty consequences to health. They can range from the inconvenient at loss levels of missed sleep, increasing in seriousness as the lack of sleep compounds, and eventually to significant health issues and, in extreme cases, life-threatening conditions.
A lack of proper sleep can be detrimental to our physical well-being and emotional and mental health. Even our spiritual condition can be harmed by a lack of adequate rest.
Our bodies are finely tuned instruments created by God to function in specific ways. Our function is designed to be helped by rest. When we slumber, our bodies repair themselves, hormones essential for healthy living are produced and our bodies process waste.
Any newborn parent can tell you the difficulty of not getting enough sleep. It is a painful, frustrating time of life.
Last night was a not-sleep event for me. I use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and have a regimen of medications to help me sleep. I have also learned a few tricks that typically help me if I have one of “those nights.” Last night, none of them worked, so I am in a grumpy, groggy state of mind. My smart watch confirms what I already knew: I didn’t sleep a wink.
Hopefully, I will catch a decent nap this afternoon and sleep well tonight to put me on an even keel again.
In the Bible, sleep refers to three different states: natural physical slumber, moral or spiritual inactivity (i.e., apathy, laziness, idleness), and as a euphemism for death.
People were created with a need for rest and sleep. A good night’s rest is actually a gift from the Lord. Fortunately, God has no need for slumber.
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:1-4
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28
Can you imagine God trying to run the world in a sleep-deprived state? He sits with a big mug of coffee, trying to remember small details and fighting grumpiness. In a way, it is an amusing image, but it is a terrifying thought, too. Where could we turn for safety or justice if God was in that state? Who would we look to if God was taking a nap? How could our prayers be heard by a catnapping Sovereign? What would hold the universe together if He were crashed on the couch?
Those are nonsensical questions, as God never needs a siesta, so we can be grateful.
We can also be thankful for a good night’s sleep. When you awaken in the morning, thank God for the gift of rest.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2023 KF “Kevin” Corbin Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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