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Sleep and the Gospel

It should go without saying—but ironically, it needs to be said—that the reason we can sleep at all is because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Saviour’s great promise to all who are weary and burdened is to come to Him and He will give us rest (Matt. 11:28). Contrast this with the tragic, and indeed horrific, fate of unbelievers as described in Revelation 14:11, which says that there is “no rest for the wicked” and “the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever.”

This is also why Psalm 127 talks about the vanity of any kind of toil unless the LORD is behind what we’re doing. Whether it’s ‘building’ or ‘watching’, they are vanity without the LORD. But Solomon, who obviously knew firsthand about all these things, then writes: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those He loves.” (Psalm 127:2)

Sleep is a gift from God, and it’s based upon the finished work of Christ. Hence we should cast all our anxieties and worries upon Him, because not only has He saved us while we were yet sinners, but He continues to actively care for us as well (see Phil. 4:6-7; 1 Pet. 5:7). In this sense, we could say that sleep is a sign of our salvation and is indeed the metaphor which is used of our bodies when a Christian dies (1 Thess. 4:13).

Spiritual Warfare

Temptation often arises when we’re tired. All of the men I speak with regarding their struggle with lust have told me that they’re most susceptible when they’re tired. This might be telling us that it is not wise to have a phone or electronic device in one’s bedroom. Sin is easier to give into when it’s done in secret.

One of the best strategies I’ve found in maintaining one’s spiritual health and vitality is to go to bed. Indeed, I’ve found it takes more discipline to go to sleep earlier than planned than it does to get up. But the benefits are enormous. Getting enough sleep is one of those ‘atomic habits’ which totally shape the rest of our lives.

David learnt this lesson the hard way. Significantly, at a time when kings were supposed to go off to war, David stayed home (2 Sam. 11:1). Long before David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, his first mistake was that he had stopped seeking the LORD, both His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). And precisely the same problem can happen when we decide to stay up later than we planned and start to ‘see’ things we know we should not.

A friend of mine used to often say to me: “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop”. That’s not a saying he made up, but a truism. Our spiritual enemy’s greatest desire is to destroy the work of our hands in contrast to our Father in heaven who seeks to establish them (Psalm 90:17). One of Satan’s most effective strategies then is to attack us when we’re tired and what better way to achieve that than by denying us rest.

The God Who Does Not Stop Working

In John 5:17 Jesus rebukes the Jews who were upset at His healing someone on the Sabbath. But Jesus taught that His Father is always at work, so too is He. Sadly, John says that in response they wanted to kill Him for He was not only breaking the Sabbath, but He also claiming to be equal to God. But as Psalm 121 says, this is something which the LORD is always doing. Not only does He never sleep, but He also never stops working either.

We routinely take for granted the everyday mercies of God. For example, the fact that we wake up in the morning, have food on the table or travel safely to church on Sunday, or work during the week, are all good and gracious acts of our all-loving God. It’s why the Lord Jesus Christ can say that not a sparrow falls from the sky apart from His Father’s will (Matt. 10:29).

Why does any of this matter? Well, because in the context of Matthew chapter 10 where Jesus has just sent His disciples out on mission “like sheep among wolves” (Matt. 10:16a) we don’t ever need to be afraid. Why? Because we “are worth more than many sparrows” and in His sovereign providence, our Heavenly Father won’t let anything happen to us which is not in keeping with His will (Matt. 10:31b).

The Parable of the Growing Seed

One of the most neglected parables of Jesus is found in Mark 4:26-30. It’s one of those Markan parables ‘sandwiched’ between the two much more famous parables of the ‘lamp on a stand’, and the ‘mustard seed’. The parable of the ‘growing seed’ though, might just be the most pertinent parable for our age.

In short, the Lord Jesus Christ explains how the kingdom of God is like a farm. You might assume that Jesus is going to say something about our responsibility to plant, water and harvest. Instead, Jesus talks about how it’s God alone who causes the growth (see also 1 Cor. 3:6-7).

As Jesus says: ‘Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.’(Mark 4:27) I’ve seen farmers work incredibly long hours only for their harvest to be lost through drought, locust or market fluctuations. While ploughing, weeding, fertilising and irrigation are all essential, everything is under God Almighty.

But precisely because the LORD is in control and watching over us we can all sleep, even farmers! We can go to bed at night because we realise that it does not ultimately depend on us. Yes, we must play our part as stewards of God’s creation, but all things are in His all-powerful hands.

The Son of God who Sleeps …

With all of this talk about how the LORD is always at work, it would be tempting to assume that this means that resting itself is unspiritual. God might even be some kind of workaholic. But this would be a serious mistake, for the One who commanded that for six days we should work, also said that on the seventh we should rest.

People might try to deny this ‘creation ordinance’—and it’s why the whole fly-in-fly-out model is never sustainable—but they disobey God’s Word to their own personal peril and spiritual detriment. This is precisely because the LORD is our good shepherd and as such He makes His sheep to lie down beside green pastures, He leads us beside quiet waters and He restores our souls (Psalm 23:2-3).

This is something which Jesus Himself modelled for us while He was on earth. In Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:35-41 during a furious storm, where even the disciples who were seasoned sailors were fearful of drowning, Jesus is recorded as being asleep. As James Edwards points out in his commentary:

Ironically, the only place in the Gospels that we hear of Jesus sleeping is during a storm. The scene depicts his complete trust in God in the midst of adversity, like the farmer in the preceding parables (4:3-9, 27) who trusts God’s providential working over all obstacles and adversities.

Jesus is able to sleep, even in the midst of imminent danger, because He perfectly trusted in His Father. Jonah slept even while he was being disobedient; Jesus rested because He knew there is One in heaven who never sleeps, who watches over our lives, all of our comings and goings, both now and forevermore.

Don’t Worry, Eat and Rest!

How should we seek to apply this wonderful theological truth to our lives now? Well, we need to first cast all of our anxieties onto the LORD, whether they be our health, our wealth or especially our children (1 Pet.5:6-7).  This is an act of humility the apostle Peter says because it’s an admission that we are not in control. Worry and anxiety are the bitter fruit of pride. We only experience the peace which passes all understanding after we have stopped being anxious through prayer (Phil 4:5-7).

One of the most helpful examples in Scripture concerns Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Hot on the heels of his famous victory over the 450 false prophets of Baal—as well as the 400 false prophets of Baal’s mistress Asherah—Elijah fled into the wilderness. He was fearful of the murderous threats of Jezebel and so was ready to give up. I used to find Elijah’s reaction somewhat strange. I mean, why would the Queen of Israel be scarier than the 450 men who have just been put to death? Especially after all the miraculous signs Elijah had seen in answer to his prayers.

Having been in pastoral ministry for more than a quarter of a century, I can now see why. Elijah was physically and emotionally exhausted. While the LORD faithfully performs many great and gracious things through his ‘unworthy servants’ (Luke 17:10) the best of people are only people at best.

In short, we all need rest and refreshment. We regularly need green pastures and quiet waters which the Good Shepherd generously provides. Notice that in 1 Kings 19 the LORD provides Elijah with bread and water to drink. And after he’s had a sleep he’s instructed to eat and drink again. Having been strengthened by the food the angel provided, he then miraculously travelled for forty days and nights until he reached Mt Horeb.

Jehovah Jireh

There was a man in my first congregation by the name of Harold Freer. He was an American farmer who had come out to Australia in the 1960’s to help establish the cotton industry. Harold was something of a legend in the local community and had seen all kinds of trials as well as successes. But Harold was first and foremost a Christian.

One of Harold’s favourite hymns was Jehovah Jireh and he would often say with tears how precious the words were to him.

Jehovah Jireh, my provider.

His grace is sufficient

for me, for me, for me.

Jehovah Jireh, My provider,

His grace is sufficient for me.

While the tune and words are simple, the truth it teaches is profound. No matter what you’re going through right now, our God is ‘Jehovah Jireh’. His power is great. His grace is sufficient. And because of those things we can sleep.

The Heavenly Watcher

When my daughter was only a baby (she recently became a mother herself) I was overcome with worry that I wouldn’t always be able to look after her. While she was little she was fine because she was mostly with me, but that would not last. And then one day the LORD gave me the following passage from His Word. It was Psalm 121 and it gave me enormous comfort.

I lift up my eyes to the hills –

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

The Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip –

He who watches over you will not slumber;

Indeed, He who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you –

The LORD is your shade at your right hand;

The sun will not harm you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm –

He will watch over your life;

The LORD will watch over your coming and going

Both now and forevermore.

I realised that the LORD was infinitely more capable of looking after my precious little girl than I was. Even while I was awake I failed, but the LORD is perfect, and He is also always watching.

We’re told in Psalm 121 no less than five times that the LORD  is ‘watching’ over His people. While dads on earth might fall asleep when we’re supposed to be minding the kids, we have a Father in heaven who never does. The LORD is always watching over us so that we need not fear the sun or the moon might bring. And because of that we can all sleep soundly at night (see also Lev. 26:6; Psalm 3:5; 4:8; Job 11:18-19; Prov. 3:21-26).

– Mark Powell