The excerpt below was extracted courtesy of Shona Murray and David Murray’s Book Refresh, Faithful Editor.
The habit of sleeping well at night is ultimately an application of our theology. We believe that God created the dream as an integral part of our humanity (Ps 127. 2), but like all of God’s good gifts, we have a sinful tendency to reject or abuse sleep. While the problem for some is sleeping too much, the problem for others is very little sleep. In our productivity-obsessed society, we often love and minimize the need for sleep. Sometimes we even feel proud because we get very little sleep and apparently we don’t need to sleep anymore. The stories of famous Christians said to have said over the centuries that they slept little fuel the idea that sleeping less is more pious and shows great faith. What is generally not mentioned is that many of these Christians were in very poor health and some even died prematurely. That is why I take the position that a good night’s sleep is a much better example of great faith. Think of everything you say when you sleep, such as eight hours a night:
- I believe that God will take care of my family.
- My work.
- Or my studies; I refuse to believe the lie that it’s all up to me; I believe in God’s sovereignty and hope that.
- In order to do what needs to be done.
- He does not need me to overwork and get little sleep (Salt 127:1-2).
I believe that God created my human nature and that I must follow his instructions to support it, I refuse to believe the lie that I am different, I am no stronger than others, so I also need the gift of sleep (Salt 3:5 ; 4. 8).
As Karen Swallow Prior, a professor at Liberty University, wrote: “The need to rest is so important to our human nature that God has booked a day of the week to rest. In fact, have we spent a third of our lives sleeping?In fact, rest is often treated not as much as a friend, but as an enemy. We’ve never felt more vulnerable than when we slept. Maybe that’s why we resisted so much?
I think my body and soul are so closely linked that they influence each other. I refuse to believe the lie that if I neglect my body, my soul and my mind will continue to grow.
I believe that the dream is one of the best illustrations of my rest in Christ. I refuse to believe the lie that I need to be known only for my sacrificial service to Christ, not to rest there.
I believe only in God and refuse to worship idols; I refuse to love success at work and to minimize sleep; I refuse to neglect the dream of loving evening entertainment; I refuse to worship service at the expense of sleep; I refuse to declare the need to impress my boss as more important than sleeping. I refuse to worship the perfect house at the expense of the damage done to the temple of my body. Our dream pattern reveals our idols.
Are you running, can’t meet all the requests on your constantly growing to-do list?Are you full of commitments, but don’t know how to slow down when the world tells you to speed up?Is there any hope of balance in Many women not realizing that they are running at an unsustainable rate until they enter a state of physical, emotional and spiritual exhaustion. Based on many years of counselling and their own experience of depression, Shona and David Murray help him slow down so that he lives at the pace of grace for God’s glory.
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