A License to Sleep

"Today is the National  Festival of Sleep Day and I confess that I did lie in bed longer. The idea of the day is to ensure that we all catch up on sleep which we may have missed during the holidays".

"It is vain for you to rise up early ,to sit up late,to eat the bread of sorrows,for so he gives his beloved sleep". Psalms 121:4 KJV

 During my undergraduate days, I sometimes quoted the above scriptures especially after I had overslept and failed to meet  a scheduled reading plan. I used it to console myself but such comfort was usually short lived as counteracting scriptures such as".. a little slumber, a little sleep and poverty shall come knocking at your door"(Proverbs 6:10-11) usually left me feeling guilty.Poverty of course for a student like me then  meant  low grades, resits and carry over,none of  which was desirable.What I failed to realize then was that I was trying to work round the clock and more often than not, it was not an issue of oversleeping but rather   nature taking its proper course.

 The necessity and benefits of sleep cannot be overemphasized but the danger lies in  failing to strike a balance. There is a time to sleep and a time to wake up(Ecclesiastes 3:1).Either of the extremes has catastrophic consequences on  both our health and function and even our spiritual lives.

As Christians, we are advised not to sleep so that the coming of the Lord does not take us by surprise(Mark 13:33,1 Thessalonians 5:2-4,6) and another year does mean we are now closer to the coming of the Lord than when we first believed(Romans 13:11).

Engaging in spiritual exercises  such as prayer(Colossians 4:2),study of the Word(Acts 20:32),fasting and not remaining idle(2 Timothy 1:6) can keep us spiritually alert. Just as our brains still function while we are fully asleep physically,it is also possible a have a lot of activities while being fully  asleep spiritually.A sure spiritual sleep checker is our reaction to sin which should be godly sorrow and repentance(2 Corinthians 7:10).Continuous participation in what we know is wrong will dull our consciences (Titus 1:15) and lead us to slumber.

 We cannot afford to sleep spiritually(Ephesians 5:14) as it has dire consequences however  God who does not  sleep(Psalms 121:4)   expects us to  do so physically we can have healthy bodies  to carry out our assignments on earth.

Yours in Him,
Grace Tom-Lawyer.