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| Sleeping Soundly |
'When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.' Proverbs 3:24
Having difficulty with sleeping? It seems that getting a good sleep preoccupies health conscious people these days. The general advice is to get about 7-9 hours of good sleep at night. However many people, stressed by the pressures of modern day living, hardly get the sleep they need.
The Singapore Ministry of Health's web portal, Health Hub, noted that Singapore is the 3rd most sleep deprived city, after Tokyo and Seoul, in a study of 43 cities. The Singaporeans' lack of sleep is partly due to a culture of working long hours and that this drive may impinge on our ability to get good sleep.
Singaporeans trade sleep for more work, thinking that the wealth we can bring with more work will allow us to live life fully with great satisfaction. Never mind if we lose sleep. Some even see the ability to function with less sleep as a badge of honour. The MOH Health Hub warns that 'if you think that you are doing fine with less sleep, you are probably wrong. And if you work in a profession where it's important to be able to judge your level of functioning, this can be a big problem.'
Sleep affects decisions but the reverse is also true, decisions affects sleep. This is what the Bible says in Proverbs 3:21-24
'Preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.'
No one can guarantee that we will make good decisions all the time. The trick is to try to make those decisions in the will of God. Then peace of mind will come, when we learn to exercise sound judgement using the wisdom God provides.
This is the same observation and advice that St Paul gave in Philippians 4:6-7:
'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.'
Notice that St Paul spoke not only of peace of mind but also the peace of heart. This is transcendental peace, a peace that comes from above, a peace that only Jesus can give.
'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.' John 14:27
There is a dramatic account of a storm on the Lake of Galilee in the Gospel of Mark,
'Late that day, He said to them, "Let's go across to the other side." They took Him in a boat. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, "Teacher is it nothing to you that we are going down?" Awake now, He told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?" They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at His beck and call!" Mark 4:35-41 (The Message)
Sleep in the midst of a storm? How is that possible? It is possible with the transcendental peace that Jesus gives. Then we will be
- At Peace with God
- At peace with ourselves
- At peace with othaers
This is the same message brought to us by the Christmas carol, Silent Night with its gentle refrain 'Sleep in Heavenly Peace.'
Sleep Well!
Lionel
