Good Night Moon - The Blessing of Sleep

I wanted to spend some time meditating on one of the verses recommend in the Manual so that I could teach my children to love His Word through the books we read and enjoy. As the Word always did I was so ministered to by my time dwelling on this Word that I thought I would post my thoughts as a reminder of His goodness to me.

“It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labours; For He gives to his beloved even in his sleep” Psalm 127:2 (For He grants sleep to those He loves). This is a beautiful promise and one I would do well to meditate on. Sleep is a gift and during those moments of resting the Lord is working for our provision! His servants are allowed to rest – they do not have to work themselves to the bone – all day AND most of the night. It is a reminder that the Lord never sleeps and even when I am switched off and not able to DO anything He is working and planning and providing.

I love what my William Macdonald Commentary says, “This Psalm is a tremendous unfolding of the Word of the Lord through Zechariah, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts (Zech 4:6). There is such a danger that we depend on the power of the dollar or on human ingenuity. But the Lord’s will is not accomplished in that way. It is by His Spirit that we build for eternity. It is not what we do for God through our own resources, but what He does through us by His mighty power. All we can produce is wood, hay, and stubble. He can use us to produce gold, silver, and precious stones. When we act in our own strength, we are spinning wheels. When we bring God into everything, our lives become truly efficient. Carnal weapons produce carnal results. Spiritual weapons produce spiritual results.”

According to Moffatt, this verse can be translated, as “God’s gifts come to His loved ones as they sleep”. It would be great to encourage the children to pray specifically about something and encourage them to know that even while they are sleeping God is working on the answer. I find all of this incredible and it has really spoken to my heart! How much time do I spend at night thinking about things when ultimately He will be working through the night to provide for my needs! I am tempted to consider, once they have memorised this verse and understood it to bring a little present to them while they sleep!