Sleep

When you consider that we spend about a third of our lives sleeping, it’s amazing how little thought we give to it.

When I was a child I used to hate having to go to bed and I conceived any number of ingenious excuses to creep back downstairs again and postpone the inevitable; (I’m not sleepy, I’m thirsty, I think there might be monsters under my bed, I’m too hot, I’m too cold, there’s a strange noise, my teeth itch…). My own children were even more creative than I was. But by the time they were in their late teens, if anyone asked me if I had ever witnessed a modern-day raising from the dead miracle, I would have been tempted to point to the herculean achievement of rousing any of them from their beds any time before lunch.

We all know the debilitating experience of being unable to sleep due to worry and apprehensiveness. The story is told of a letter that was sent to HMRC. It stated: "Dear Sirs: Last year, when I sent my Income Tax return, I deliberately misrepresented my income. Now I cannot sleep. Enclosed is a cheque for £150 of unpaid taxes. If I still cannot sleep, I will send you the rest!"

The apostle Paul listed sleepless nights in his catalogue of woes alongside troubles, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, riots, hard work and hunger.

So being able to lay our weary heads down on a soft pillow and doze off is a precious gift from God. Psalm 132 says that God grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 3 speaks of God sustaining us during our sleep. And Psalm 4 says, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” To wake up rested, refreshed, restored and ready to go is a blessing probably most of us take for granted.

There are many ways in which we humans reflect the image of God, but sleep is not one of them. Psalm 121.4 reminds us that, quite unlike us, God neither slumbers, nor sleeps. God doesn’t get worn down by the cares of each day. His eyelids do not get heavy. He needs no caffeine and never slows down. God is always attentive, always watchful, always alert.

Sleep is not just a few hours of inactivity. It isn’t just a pause button for the multitude of important things we need to do. The need to sleep is a daily reminder that we have to relinquish control over our lives. Our sense that we are indispensable is an illusion. We don’t keep the globe spinning on its axis. When we wake up again, the world will still be here. Falling asleep each night then is a daily reminder to entrust everything to the Lord and leave our cares with him.

Christopher Ash, in his little book Zeal Without Burnout says, “To neglect sleep, Sabbaths, friendships and inward renewal is not heroism but hubris. It is to claim that I am at a level or two above normal members of the human race. When a fellow Christian lets slip how very hard they are working, and that they haven’t had a proper day off for a while, we need to find a way of saying to them (in love!), “You are behaving like an arrogant fool!”

Our regular need for sleep points to the spiritual rest that Jesus offers us in the gospel. “Come to me all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He’s talking about rest from sin, rest from straining, rest from striving and rest from earning.

And when, in the words of John Henry Newman, “the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done” then for us Christians we “fall asleep,” which seems to have been a First Century Christian code word for death, used several times in the New Testament.

They weren't in denial. For Christian believers death, like sleep, is factual but not final. For Christians, death actually is very much like falling asleep for three reasons. (1) Even if we wanted to, no one could possibly stay awake forever, we need to sleep. Likewise, no one can stay alive indefinitely, however much we might wish to. (2) Just as sleep is a restful relief after a long, tiring day, death can be a release from the indignity of frailty and ill health and old age. And (3) most significantly, after sleep, you wake up feeling newly alive the next morning. The birds are chirping, the sun is up, and it’s good to see a new day opening up before you as you pull the curtains back. It's time to sing again. For those who are in the Lord, the best is yet to come.

Photo credit: Jamie Street on Unsplash