Last night I lay in bed problem solving. I generally do not have trouble sleeping. While I get up in the night for bad dreams and filling water cups, my own sleep has, for the most part, been consistently consistent.
The other evening, I lay awake going over various details of a problem that had been quite literally keeping me awake. While the puzzle rolled around in my mind, I analyzed every angle. Yet, I would have preferred to be sleeping.
Now at the late hour, there was not many actual things that I could have done to find a solution. But the constant analysis made me feel as if I was taking steps to find an answer so I kept brainstorming. Some thoughts were helpful, some were not. But all were successful at keeping my bring engaged in a quandary that would not be solved until day light, at the earliest.
“I could just go to sleep,” I thought. But my sub conscious shut that thought down impressively quickly.
“We can’t sleep until we have a game plan,” came a quick reply.
“Oh, of course… what was I thinking.” My brain responded.
But then the spirit spoke to my soul. “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.”
No matter what I would like to believe, I will not be able to overthink my way to solving all my problems. Very few are worth losing precious sleep over. Who are we to willingly reject the good gift of sleep from our Father.
To reject generous grace in order to keep pridefully toiling ourselves into exhaustion seems ridiculous in the light of day. Yet, at night it seems like the only reasonable decision.
We sleep and trust that the Lord will work out all things for our good. We wake and take bold steps of obedience towards God’s provision. And then we sleep again knowing that our faithfulness is small compared to the faithfulness of God, who has no limit. He has no need for slumber. Yet, He created night and day that His beloved might rest from their toils and trust Him who is really working it all out for His glory and our good.