"there IS rest for the weary...!" .....OR..... "satan, sleep and surrender: what could they possibly have in common?!..."

I love to sleep, but I hate having to go to sleep... It's one of the aggravations of my life! Maybe it is because I tend to be a slower-moving type of person and never seem to get everything done that I'd like in a day. I find it so frustrating to have to go to sleep when I want to keep going.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. It's another one of those things I can see satan (yes, I believe he's real, though I still have questions) uses to trip us up. I've heard plenty of drug addicts talk about using speed/meth to "get things done", but again, it's a cheap shortcut because they never really get anything done, except picking at their faces or taking electronics apart and never getting them back together. Okay, maybe a super-clean house, but is it really worth the price paid? So, their brains are basically tricked into believing they're accomplishing great things by being able to cheat sleep. Cheating sleep sounds pretty enticing to me sometimes...

It's interesting that the Bible talks about sleep as if it's a good thing...

Psalm 127
"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--
for he grants sleep to those he loves."

So, sleep is a gift from God to those who surrender control of their lives to him...

In Matthew 6:34, Jesus himself tells us to not "...worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."

To me, that indicates the importance of laying down the day and its unfinished projects and worries at the end of the day and seeing each day as a fresh start.

The fact that I'm never "finished" when it's time to sleep is something I should just let go of while I'm still on this earth. It's another thing that entices me toward heaven and what God has in store beyond the here and now. Revelation 21 and 22 both say there will be no more night and that we will live forever. The very fact that we can never fully be satisfied by our accomplishments on this earth make me believe there has got to be more to our existence than just this short time here... Time will no longer be a hindrance, nor will sleep!

So, while I remain on this earth, I will gratefully allow God to grant me sleep and help me deal with only the worries of today...while daydreaming about what lies beyond...


c2010 Lorenda Houston