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TranscriptIntroduction
Welcome back to the show. I hope everyone is well-rested, and—if you’re not—you’re excited to hear what God would have you to do.
This short series has free notes, LifeWork, and links to related resources in the description of today’s episode. But if you’re just joining us, please listen to the previous episode so you can learn about the sleep questionnaire. If you and your family already listened to that episode, I hope you each have completed your sleep surveys and are ready to dive into what the Scripture has to say about sleep. And—of course—if you’re interested in having a biblical counselor work through your sleep questionnaires to help diagnosis the physical and spiritual reasons you may not be sleeping as well as you could, you can contact us at [email protected]. Now, let’s get started. Topic
On our last episode I cited two passages that talk about sleep. We’re going to consider those today along with a slough of others.
Most people are exceedingly unaware that the Bible presents a unified doctrine of sleep. It may not be as thorough as other doctrines, but there’s quite a bit of material on the subject. But before we get any further along in our discussion, I want to make yet another impassioned plea that you and your family visit TruthLoveParent.com/donate and sign up to be a monthly donor. We desperately need your support and look forward to ministering to your family through our podcast, the Evermind App, our books, our conferences, our counseling, and so much more. Please click the link in the description for TruthLoveParent.com/donate and sign up today! Alight, the following passages teach powerful truths about various ways our sleep can be affected by our lifestyles. I’m going to read a number of passages, and they’re not exactly in the same order as what you see on your Sleep Plan handout, so—above all else—please pay close attention. God’s Word never returns void. It’s designed to do a powerful work in our lives—if we let it. Let’s start from the general and work to the specific. 1. The Bible illustrates that you can sleep at the wrong times. Matthew 26:40-46, “And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.’” Mark 14:37-42 and Luke 22:45-46 chronicle this same account. Proverbs 10:5 reveals, “He who gathers in summer is a son who acts insightfully; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.” Harvest time was the wrong time for this young man to sleep. Using more figurative language, Mark 13:33-37 shows us that there are simply times that require us to be awake. “See to it, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. It is like a man away on a journey, who, upon leaving his house, put his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanding the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Stay awake!’” The truths Jesus is teaching here extend far beyond mere sleeping, but the observations are still there. And then Ecclesiastes 3:1 teaches us that, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” There are times God wants us sleeping, and there are times we shouldn’t be sleeping. The application for us is that we must not take for granted that we always sleep at the right times and for the right amount of time. There are spiritual truths that need to guide when we sleep. So, I think we need to get more specific. 2. The Bible illustrates that not enough sleep (or sleeping at the wrong times) can be a result sin. John 3:19 says broadly, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” Here we see people who pursue evil while others are sleeping. In a more metaphorical way, Romans 13:12-14 uses the imagery of dark and light to exemplify evil and righteousness. Our Biblical Families series (which is a free family devotional through the book of I John) deals a lot with this concept, but I want to focus on the more concrete descriptions of how we use our daytime and nighttime hours. The sin with the most examples of sleeping at the wrong times is laziness. Pay close attention to how the Scriptures pair sleeping with being lazy. Proverbs 6:9-11, “How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” Proverbs 19:15, “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.” Proverbs 24:33-34 is a repeat of what we read in Proverbs 6:10-11. Any time the Bible quotes itself word-for-word, it’s important that we listen even more carefully. Proverbs 20:13, “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.” Proverbs 24:30-34, “I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking a heart. And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was torn down. Then I beheld; I set my heart upon it; I saw; I received discipline. ‘A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to lie down,’ Then your poverty will come as one who walks, And your want like an armed man.” That’s the third time we’ve heard these words. Proverbs 26:14, “As the door turns on its hinges, So does the sluggard on his bed.” And then in Proverbs 31 verse 15 we are given an example of someone who is very much not lazy. She’s a valuable woman whose worth is far above rubies. “She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.” But laziness isn’t the only sin that can affect out sleep. Unlike laziness which causes us to sleep too much, pursuing violence causes people to sleep at the wrong times. Proverbs 4:14-19 reveals a similar group of people, “Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not step into the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness And drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the fullness of day. The way of the wicked is like thick darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.” Drunkenness also disrupts our sleep. I Thessalonians 5:6-8 tells us, “So then, let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” Sinful sexuality is also described in the Bible as something that disrupts our healthy sleep patterns. Proverbs 7:6-10 describes a man pursuing this sin at night, and Job 24:13-17 unveils similar truths but in much more powerful verbiage, “Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not recognize its ways Nor abide in its paths. The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the afflicted and the needy, And at night he is as a thief. The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he veils his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.” And sometimes our sleep is actually disrupted by God Himself because the guilt and conviction about our sin plagues us at night. In Psalm 32:3-4 David explains “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” Psalm 38:3-8 provides additional support for this experience. I want to end this point with a passage from Luke 6:12 in which Jesus did the important work of communing with His Father regardless of the time, “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.” So, we see that some sin causes us to sleep too much, other sin causes us to sleep at the wrong times, but sometimes hard work and pursuing that which glorifies God will also impact our sleep. So, how are we to know? This next point is an important part of the puzzle. 3. The Bible illustrates that not enough sleep is often the result of a lack of faith in God. Psalm 127:2 says, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” A person who rises early and goes to bed late because they feel as though everything rests on them is missing the providence and sufficiency of God. Psalm 6:6, “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.” David could have enjoyed the forgiveness and peace of God, but instead his eyes turned inward. Job 7:13-15 reveals what happens when we let our distresses be bigger to us than our God: “When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me with visions, So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains.” Mark 4:35-41, "On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”” Why was Jesus asleep? Well, I believe it’s right to say that He was stewarding His health. We know from earlier passages that His schedule was overwhelming. But we also know that Jesus was testing His disciples. He not only taught them the importance of trust in God, but He illustrated it for them through His sleep in the storm. Psalm 4:8 shows us the comforting sleep of those who trust the Lord, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” And Psalm 3:5 tells us, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.” Later in the same passage, verses 21-26 go on to say, “Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be in dread; Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant. Do not be afraid of sudden dread Nor of the storm of the wicked when it comes; For Yahweh will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught.” And then Psalm 121:3-4 beautifully shows us that God “will not allow your foot to stumble; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will not slumber and will not sleep.” It is precisely because our all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God doesn’t sleep that we can trust Him while we sleep. Believing that truth can allow us to proclaim what Psalm 91:1-6 tells us, “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day.” And Isaiah 26:3-4 is one of my favorite passages, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. Trust in Yahweh forever, For in Yahweh we have an everlasting Rock.” I believe this was the reason the Psalmist says in Psalm 63:5-6, “My soul is satisfied as with fatness and richness, And my mouth praises You with lips of joyful songs. When I remember You upon my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.” My friends, this is nothing more than a podcast episode listing our various biblical reasons we don’t sleep when we should, we don’t sleep well, and we don’t sleep at all. But it will take mature insight and/or meeting with a biblical counselor or discipler to determine if we individuals are actually guilty of sinful sleep patterns and the sin that causes them. We’re all convinced that we do everything right, but it’s when we come face to face with the whole of Scripture that the Holy Spirit and truth-speaking Christians can help us see that what we thought was a good idea . . . isn’t. Please don’t move past this episode and these Scriptures without carefully and honestly inspecting your life. Especially as it includes this final point. 4. Stewarding Our Health to the Glory of God—with an Emphasis on Sleep The Bible gives a substantial theology of the body, physical weakness, food, work, rest, self-control, strength, and stewardship. And the controlling principle for all of it is: A. Your body belongs to God and is to be used for His glory. 1 Corinthians 6:12–20 is the foundational New Testament passage. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” Then Paul says: “Yet the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.” And finally: “Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” The foundational truths that need to root how we care for our bodies are:
B. Everything—including physical activities—should be done for God's glory. I Corinthians 10:31 is also one of my favorite passages. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Eating and drinking are ordinary physical activities. Paul takes them and places them under the authority of one overarching purpose: Do all to the glory of God. Of course, sleep is not specifically named, but the principle plainly applies to the ordinary physical stewardship of life as well. Therefore, I believe one of our major thesis need to be: We should steward our physical health, including our sleep, not merely so that we feel better or live longer, but so that we are better equipped to glorify God with the bodies He has given us. C. God recognizes that the body has legitimate needs. The Bible does not portray physical needs as inherently unspiritual. In Matthew 6:25–34 Jesus says: “Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.” Jesus isn’t denying the legitimacy of physical needs. Food, drink, clothing, and the body are all real concerns. His teaching is that these needs must be approached with trust in the Father rather than anxiety. He goes on to say “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” And “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Some more foundational truths for our sleep include:
D. Sleep and rest are part of God's provision for human beings. I’m not going to re-read all the previous passages about the assumed necessity of sleep. But I will remind us that the Bible says so much about sleep and rest. In fact, God instituted the necessity of a day of rest into the very rhythms of life. Our other podcast, The Celebration of God, digs into the biblical data concerning rest and tries to help all of us worship God better with our rest. Those links are in the description with all the others. The undeniable fact is that we absolutely need sleep. We will die if we don’t sleep. Therefore, proper sleep requires humility. We have to submit to God’s plan for our physical and spiritual health. Therefore . . . E. Proper rest is not laziness. Yes, the Bible condemns sloth, but it does not glorify constant activity. Mark 6:30–31 tells us, that after the apostles return from ministry, Jesus said, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” The reason given is that “there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” Jesus recognized that sustained activity often requires deliberate withdrawal and rest. This is an important corrective to the idea that exhaustion automatically demonstrates godliness. Again, the day of rest exemplifies that human beings were not designed for uninterrupted labor. F. The opposite problem is also true: excessive sleep can be poor stewardship. We’re not going to reread all the passages about laziness, but we have to acknowledge that biblical stewardship does not automatically mean more work, more sleep, more exercise, more restriction, or more physical comfort. It means using God's gifts appropriately for God's purposes. It requires wisdom and maturity and a pursuit of God’s glory. It isn’t going to happen naturally when we want or don’t want sleep. And that flows into . . . G. We should not allow bodily appetites or habits to master us. This principle is particularly important for health. We need to ask ourselves, am I stewarding this, or is this mastering me? In Romans 6:12–19, Paul teaches that believers are not to present themselves to sin but to God. “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.” He also writes, “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” And then he says, “Present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.” The body and its members are therefore something we consciously present to God for His purposes. H. Physical strength has value—but it is not the ultimate goal. I Timothy 4:7–8 says, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Notice what Paul does not say: “Bodily discipline is worthless.” He says it is “profitable for a little.” Therefore, bodily discipline has value, physical stewardship has value, but godliness has greater and eternal value. This protects us from two opposite errors: Error 1: “My body doesn't matter. Only my soul matters.” That is not biblical. Error 2: “Physical health is the ultimate measure of a successful life.” That is also not biblical. The body matters, but it serves a greater purpose. I. God expects us to exercise self-control. Sleep stewardship (and health stewardship in general) repeatedly comes back to self-control. Galatians 5:22–23, Titus 2:11–12, I Peter 1:13 and 5:8 support a life that is ordered rather than controlled by impulse. When we apply this to sleep, we see that going to bed when you should, getting up when you should, and refusing to be ruled by either exhaustion-producing habits or excessive comfort can all fall under biblical self-control. Conclusion
There is so much more that could be said about stewarding our health and the importance of Christ-honoring sleep. But regardless of whether you need more sleep or less sleep, here are some important considerations for everyone (and these are on your LifeWork handout).
1. You will need to see God for Who He is.
2. You will need to see yourself for who you are.
3. You will need help to have success.
Also, please email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (828) 423-0894 if you need help pleasing the Lord with your sleep. This is a big deal. I started this series by saying that most Christians are painfully unaware of God’s expectations for our sleep, and far too many of us abuse our sleep . . . often because of unrepentant sin habits in our lives. We would be honored to help you create a new, Christ-honoring normal in your life. As always, please share this series with your friends, sign up to be a monthly donor, and then join us for part 3 where we discuss creating a new normal. Until then, please get some healthy sleep.
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