Tom Barnard

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 4:8

Solomon probably thought that he had said it all when he wrote, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Then he proceeded to list 28 activities. Trouble is, he forgot one. He failed to list “rest” among the things for which there is time. I wonder if he had sleep apnea. If he had, he certainly would have remembered to say something about the importance of rest. Rest is not the absence of activity (as any sleep walker would testify). But it is close. To be “rested” at the start of a day depends in part on what happened the night before.

Experts identify more than a hundred types of sleep disorder, the most common of which are insomnia, sleep apnea, Restless Legs Syndrome, and narcolepsy. Causes of sleep disorders are many, including a person’s physiological or emotional makeup, stress, a change in time zones, poor bedtime habits, or some medical or psychiatric condition.

But we know one thing: There is a close relationship between having the assurance of personal safety and peaceful sleep. When we feel safe and secure, sleep is easier. Francois Fenelon, a 17^th Century contemporary of Madame Guyon, wrote the following words that brought comfort to many of his followers:

“We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His providence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies. No more restless uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more impatience at the place we are in, for it is God who has put us there, and who holds us in His arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us?”

We all need a place to feel secure—a place to rest “in the arms of God.” These words from a song by W.D. Cornell come to mind as I think about resting in God:

“Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,

Coming down from the Father above;

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,

With fathomless billows of love.”

Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing to me again the importance of yielding myself to your providence. The world would have me believe that if there is a God, he doesn’t have any interest in the pressures I face or the problems that need to be resolved. The world assumes that chaos is normal and that peace of any kind is impossible to realize. Thank you for showing me that the world is misinformed. This is where you have planted me, and I pledge to continue serving you and looking to you for guidance and for rest. In the strong Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.