If you do a search online for how to sleep better at night, you'll get a ton of mediocre responses. Go to bed earlier, at the same time, in a cold room, with lots of blankets, after a cup of hot tea, and after an all-natural supplement. Turn off your screens 60 minutes before bed, read a good book, and don't start any new projects.
Sound familiar?
Is it working? Maybe? Kinda? Sorta?
When I went to the Bible instead of Google, my sleep research came out a little differently. Here are two positive suggestions and two warnings that Scripture says are important when it comes to sleep and rest.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8
One of my favorite verses about getting a good night's sleep comes from a psalm that starts with distress. David was begging God for mercy in a difficult situation, and he lays awake all night thinking and praying through things. By the end of the psalm, David's peace and calm have been restored, and he sleeps deeply knowing that God is in control.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:2
I have a tiny hanging on my bedside lamp that says Give it to God and go to sleep. There is nothing that my laying awake all night thinking will solve. But what I can do, instead of trying to function on too little sleep worrying over things, is turn everything over to the Lord, say goodnight, and believe that He is going to give His beloved daughter the sleep she needs.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs 6:9-11
But the opposite of getting too little sleep is also true. I love sleep as much as the next person, but there's such a thing as sleep to the point of lazy. If you're still in the bed instead of going to church, interacting with people, getting things done that need to be done, living life - that's too much. Solomon warned against letting sleep rule your life, but finding balance that honors God.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6
If we're busy sleeping, either literally or figuratively, we're going to miss out on the opportunities God gives us to witness for Him. As children of the light, we're called to watch and be serious about what's happening in the world around us. We can either jump back in bed and stick our head under the covers, or we can step up, look up, and be available for whatever God has planned for us today.
So combining just these four passages of Scripture, we can lay down in peace and sleep knowing God has complete control. We have no reason to lay awake and ruminate if we trust that He is already handling all of our situations for our good and His glory. We can't waste time sleeping when there is so much to do in HIs name and for His people. And we're not able to watch and be serious about the world around us if we're sound asleep. What a much better study and set of solutions for getting a good night's sleep - let's do it God's way!
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