Read Time: 7 Minutes
God desires for us to have peaceful sleep. Point. Blank. Period.
Sleep is not only necessary biologically for cellular repair, but it is also necessary for us to recognize the spiritual principle of rest, and the precepts to achieve peaceful sleep.
After 6 days, God spent one day to rest or cease. The Hebrew verb used is Shabbat, where we get the term Sabbath. And each day is God’s creation, a joyful morning sunrise, wrapped up with a solemn dawn and evening. It is a closure to one day and a beginning to another. It is a mini-cycle of creation each day, which serves as a witness to the majesty of His creation and His endless love (queue the music).
As a child, I wanted to stay up all night. It was a challenge each night to sneak past our parents bedroom, down to the basement where our video games were. I would map various scenarios with my brothers and plot tactical strategies, each obstacle serving as an aid to staying awake and alert. As adults, we face these same challenges and construct plots with the same objective, just more subtle and devious in nature. But when we realize that sleep is a godly principle, part of His daily cycle and divine biology, sleep takes a different view. I mean, let’s be honest, by now it probably seems like a gift to get six hours.
So why do we chase other things in our mind and physically sit awake doing tasks, using our bedroom as an office slash gym slash diner, or entertaining ourselves on the latest obsession as we continue to pervade sleep? It is part of his plan for all of us, that we continue His cycle of creation and may sleep, witness, repeat. And one day we will even wake up to Him in the Kingdom.
#SleepWitnessRepeatTo test the hypothesis that sleep is a godly principle, we should be able to find scriptural evidence which is pointing us not only in that direction, but giving us widgets of wisdom with which to wiggle ourselves from insomnia into peaceful slumber. Let’s dive in!
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalms 4:8, ESV)
1. WORK / PREPARE (OBEDIENCE)
The secret to a great night’s sleep actually begins the night before (or days before really). And while this cliche is becoming intertwined with studies, self help books and scientific hypotheses, the point is, for all great achievements we must do a little work ourselves and then pray that our work aligns with God’s will. It is also noteworthy that in the Hebrew calendar, the day actually begins the night before. Which is why most holidays begin at sundown. And God desires for us to keep this holy rhythm in order to ensure a peaceful sleep, because that also prepares us for the morning of His work and testimony.
However, contrary to popular opinion, it is not the worldly wisdom and life hacks which will bring us peaceful sleep. Sure, if you run four miles the day before and drink some hot tea, you will definitely get tired and fall asleep (eventually). But this worldly preparation will only bring us so far (snoring on top of our beds), and it will certainly not advance any of God’s causes. Therefore, we should seek godly wisdom when want to understand how to work and prepare for sleep. Let’s look into Proverbs for some help there.
“My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” (Proverbs 3:21-24, ESV)
We see here that the Proverbs are specifically referring to God’s wisdom and discretion. Yeshua (Jesus) or the Word is His Wisdom and obedience to him and the Word gives us the guideposts for discretion. You can read all over the gospels about Rabbi Yeshua and his wisdom for obeying the Word or the Torah. In fact, Torah literally means instruction manual. It is our instruction manual to life and part of life is sleep!
Our Heavenly Father gives us guideposts on how to avoid adultery and how to avoid other sins by loving one another (the golden rule). It is truly amazing to see all of the blessings that come through obedience. These are the fruits of our labor. Peaceful sleep is absolutely one of those fruits or rewards. Give true obedience to His Word a try for a week – that’s a real life hack. And enjoy the sweet fruit of peaceful sleep.
2. CREATE/LABOR (CHOICE)
If you didn’t already catch this at the beginning, hopefully you are saying “of course we should follow the pattern given by our creator” e.g. Work x6, Rest x1. But work can be defined in so many different ways, and what really is rest? We can dive deeper on these topics at a later point, but for now let’s look at work in the sense of creation, and creation in the sense of what accounts for our mental energy.
Now cited in hundreds of other studies, Clarke & Sokoloff determined in a 1999 study, published in Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, Cellular and Medical Aspects that the brain accounts for about 20% of metabolic activity or calories consumed by the body. While this may seem quite obvious or normal, it becomes interesting when we consider that the brain only accounts for about 2% of total body weight. Talk about 10x!
So what does this tell us about sleep and what does this have to do with our godlyyy hypothesis?
Our brain is a continuous decision hub. Even if we work with our hands all day, our hands are still controlled by the brain, and the brain is still making all of the decisions on what to do and when. Each movement of our finger is connected to a complex wiring system that let’s be honest – is truly only understood 100% by G-O-D.
Nevertheless, while some of these physical decisions are conscious, others not so much (think breathing). Perhaps a better word for these decisions are choices. We choose what we wear, where we walk, what we do, what we eat, and even with whom we spend our precious time. All to the betterment or detriment of our life. All in all, the brain makes over 35,000 decisions per day according to popular belief. Now we see where all that oxygen and metabolic energy goes!
Further, we need to view choice as a creation mechanism. When we choose, we create a path, we create a life. In Tal Ben-Shahar’s Choose The Life You Want there are several key statements introducing the first chapter:
“Choice is creation.”
"To choose is to create...
Through my choices I create my reality."“At every moment in my life, I have a choice. Moments add up to a lifetime; choices add up to a life.”
Tal Ben-Shahar
We must see the godlyyy wisdom hidden here in plain sight. In many cases, we decide with words. God brought the world into existence through His Holy Breath and His Word. Our sacred creation was a set of choices and decisions made by God. And He saw that it was good (according to His purpose!).
So you may still be asking, what does this have to do with sleep?
Well it is really two-fold. We tend to think of being tired in a physical manner, but it is equally a mental topic, especially when we consider the 10x factor of neurological metabolism. Therefore, not only do we need to make the right choices to bring us to sleep, but we need to acknowledge that our creation engine and control tower is what needs rest.
If we are constantly choosing all day, our brain does not automatically stop choosing, just because our body is horizontal in a comfortable place. We have to make the conscious effort to turn off the engine. CHOOSE TO STOP. Choose to cease creating. Make the choice to stop making choices.
Put down the book (or phone). Turn off the lights and close your eyes. Stop scrolling. Then start to take some deep breathes in and out. It helps to write down all that is on your mind before your start this sequence (think tomorrow’s to-do list), because then your brain can put that away (for now).
When we “force quit” all the noise of the brain, we send positive signals back to the brain – whether we realize it or not. How about that for a choice!
Close the loop on the creation in order to rest before the next part of creation (tomorrow). This loop of 6x work, 1x rest, means we are following this godlyyy pattern and surrendering our creation to our Creator. Now the only thing left is to do is to pray.
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:2-3, ESV)
3. LET GO & LET GOD (MODEH ANI)
Modeh Ani is a centuries old prayer which first appeared in a prayer book in the 16th century. For how short it is, it packs a powerful prayer punch (say that ten times fast), when it comes to showing gratitude and surrendering to the greatness of our Creator.
First in the Hebrew version:
Modeh ani lefanekha melekh cḥai vekayam shehecḥezarta b’nishmati b’cḥemlah, rabah emunatekha.
מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקיים שהחזרת בי נשמתי
בחמלה. רבה אמונתך
Now the English translation:
I give thanks before you, King living and eternal, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; abundant is Your faithfulness!
For many, these are the first words said upon rising, and it is the ultimate prayer of gratefulness. Gratefulness is an amazing way to change your mental state and achieve happiness. It is a powerful message to send to God.
In its essence, it is an acknowledgement that you are not the owner of your soul. And that every night, your soul is held and protected by God until it is returned to you in the morning. While physically our soul is still within us, it is sleep which represents death when we consider the big picture. When we die, we are only “resting in peace” until Yeshua returns and we have the second resurrection. Therefore, it is a representation of the bigger picture of life and specifically God’s breath (think back to the other precepts…).
“then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7, ESV)
“Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”” (Genesis 6:3, ESV)
“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2, ESV)
God gives us the physical world to manifest spiritual representations and messages. He still speaks to us and through us each day through His Holy Spirit, and in the people, places, and events that occur. He gives us His Breath of Life. He giveth and taketh away. He makes us lie down in green pastures. Take the time to notice each of these things today, and when you lay down to sleep, let is be peaceful, let it rewarding, and most importantly let go of your soul and let God.
“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalms 23:3, ESV)
Takeaways to make a way…
-Sleep is a godly principle and we can achieve peaceful sleep through following God’s precepts
-God uses the physical world as a training and teaching ground for spiritual lessons
-Creation was achieved through Breath and we create our life through our choices each day
-We need to acknowledge the bigger picture, God as our Creator and keeper of our soul as we lay down to sleep in peace
-Obedience to His word is key, and brings the fruit of peaceful sleep
Further Study with your Buddy…
Go back and read (or re-read) Divine Distractions, because not all Distractions are bad or simply preventing sleep
Also if you haven’t read Our God is One of Peace and Order, this is also good bedtime reading 🙂
Questions for Reflection…
What prayers do you say before bed or when you wake up?
How can you change your choices to focus on Obedience?
What is preventing you from stopping at night?
How does your night routine prepare your for the next day?
Why do we need sleep?
Sources
Clarke DD, Sokoloff L. Regulation of Cerebral Metabolic Rate. In: Siegel GJ, Agranoff BW, Albers RW, et al., editors. Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, Cellular and Medical Aspects. 6th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven; 1999. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK28194/
Ben-Shahar, T. Choose the life you want: The mindful way to happiness. Experiment Publ. 2014.
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