Psalms 127:2 “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.”
This section also falls under the heading of that which God counsels us, because it is not considered sinful to the saint that chooses not to follow God’s counsel in this area. So what about physical rest? Rest is a vital part of how we look after our physical bodies, for God designed our bodies to need sleep and to also rest from work. In the above quoted passage of scripture we learn that it is the Lord who gives us sleep, and scripture also teaches us that the sleep He gives to us is sweet (Proverbs 3:24). And so we see that the correct amount of sleep is vital to our physical wellbeing, and the above passage teaches us that it is vain for us to forgo sleep. There are numerous reasons why people do not sleep well. It may be due to stress, worry, too much work, etc, none of which is from the Lord, for it is His perfect will that His children have the correct amount of sleep. Do not allow the enemy to rob you of your sleep. Each night when you close your eyes, by faith receive the sleep that the Lord has promised us and thank Him for it. You will find that you will be able to sleep peacefully and wake up refreshed in the morning.
Ecclesiastes 5:12 “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.”
In the context of the previous quoted passage of scripture, we are counselled by the Lord not to forgo sleep due to excessive work. Nevertheless there is a balance in this area, because in the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit tells us that the sleep of a labouring man is sweet. And so we can see that the quality of our sleep can be influenced by the work that we do during the day. It is interesting to note that the same scripture teaches us that those who are very rich do not always sleep well, and the reason for that is because they tend to worry about their wealth.
2 Corinthians 6:4-5 “But in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, (5) in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fasting’s.”
We have seen so far that work can actually improve our quality of sleep, but that overwork can negatively affect our sleep. And so it is very important for us to always maintain the right balance in our work. There may be times when our workload does become excessive however, and there is nothing wrong with that. In writing to the church at Corinth in the above quoted passage of scripture, the apostle Paul tells us about his ministry team’s labouring for the Lord, and the sleeplessness that they incurred because of their labours.
Mark 6:31-32 “And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going and they did not even have time to eat. (32) So, they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.”
Nevertheless any period of excessive labouring should always be only for a season, and should not be the norm. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that our Lord and His ministry team were also experiencing an excessive workload in the town of Capernaum. So much so, that the bible tells us that they did not even have time to have proper meals. And so I want you to notice what our Lord does after a while. He pulls His whole team out of that town, and takes them to a deserted place where they could recuperate. In doing that, our Lord set the example for us to follow. There is nothing wrong with periods of excessive labour, but we must not allow that to go on for long periods of time. And at the end of those periods, we need to take a break from our work environments to rest and recuperate.
Proverbs 20:13 “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.”
The bible also cautions us against too much sleep however, for there are those who rest more than they labour. This is also outside of the will of God for our lives. And so, just as we need to get the balance right with regards to not overworking, so we need to get the balance right with regards to having too much rest. The above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that excessive resting and sleep has a negative impact on our financial wellbeing. The bible teaches us that we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). And so if we are negligent in our sowing then we cannot complain when there is nothing to reap.
Michael E.B. Maher
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