Mark Twain once humorously said that “when I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” I have found Mr. Twain’s observation to grow truer each year. The older I get, the smarter my parents seem to become. Perhaps even more humorously, I find myself repeating what they used to say and imitating what they used to do.

Growing up in the Robinson household, my parents insisted upon and enforced several practices upon me and my two brothers which I considered outdated at best and draconian at worse. Two of these practices were particularly irritating. First, they made us go to bed every night at 8:30pm. Second, they made us take naps. To this day my wife insists that I have an undiagnosed case of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. If her diagnosis is accurate, then you can only imagine how much worse it was when I was a prepubescent adolescent. To me, taking a nap was a punishment that only rivaled going to Hell in its anguish lol. Going to bed at 8:30pm was no better. Such an early bedtime meant that I missed most of the popular shows that my classmates watched, which forbade my participation in the post-show analyses that occurred in the hallways between classes and at the lunch table with all the cool kids who got to stay up late. I often griped against these restrictions, and silently questioned their logic and significance. Carefully note the word silently. My father was not one who brooked dissent. But he usually read my mind, and would say as we reluctantly marched off to bed, “you need your rest.”

Rest and sleep are not synonymous. However, both are important. And most of us don’t get enough of either! Let’s discuss sleep today. I’ll take up rest next week.

In Psalms 127:1-2. the Bible says:

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.

This statement was made by a builder to other builders about the prerequisites of a successful building project. Chief among these prerequisites is divine involvement. Without God’s blessings, no amount of strategy, hard work or diligence will prevail. Solomon insists that being able to sleep is a gift from God! I think this is why Jesus was able to sleep so comfortably while he and his disciples were being battered by a storm. Mark 4:35-38: says that

Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”

Everyone was worried about “going down” except Jesus! He was not sleeping because he did not care about them or because he was oblivious to the danger in his environment. He was sleeping because he knew who was in control. God grants sleep to those he loves. God’s love gives me confidence that allows me surrender every aspect of my life to his control, understanding that ultimately his will shall be done. Psalm 121:4 says that God never slumbers nor sleeps. So if God is awake, why should I be?

According to the National Institutes of Health, most Americans are sleep deprived. According to their research, most adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep each night, teenagers need 9 hours, and young children need 10 hours. Sleep impacts every tissue of our body. One expert has written that sleep “affects growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health,” and that a lack of sleep “increases the risk for obesity, heart disease and infections.” Given the critical importance of sleep to our overall health, you would think it would be more celebrated, appreciated, and practiced. But precisely the opposite reaction obtains. Our culture celebrates sleep deprivation. We brag about staying late at the office, pulling all nighters, and getting our hustle on. There is even an hip hop anthem that pays homage to exhaustion. The song is called “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Well the truth is that if you don’t get enough sleep you will be dead sooner than you think.

Are you stressed out? burnt out? Worn out?

You probably need some sleep.

You might be surprised by the miracles that can occur if you get a good night’s sleep. The best witness for the truth of that statement is the first man that God created. Unable to find suitable companionship, God instructed Adam to go to sleep. While he was sleeping, God solved his dilemma. According to Genesis 2:

God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

The miralce occurred while Adam was sleeping!

While Adam was sleeping, God solved the problem.

While Adam was sleeping, God rectified the imbalance.

While Adam was sleeping, God altered his destiny.

Are you stressed out? Burnt out? Worn out?

You probably need some sleep.

Go to bed and let God do what God does!