Skip to main content

Sleep, Or Rather the Lack of It

Psalm 127:2 ESV 
"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.

My husband has left for a few days and I was anticipating doing many long put off house projects, meeting with friends I usually don't have time to meet with, and generally being pretty busy.  Along with all of that toil was likely to come much less sleep.  I struggle with sleep anyways.  I haven't slept through the night for more than a night or two since I was pregnant with my oldest daughter eight years ago.  

This morning in my Bible study, Becoming a Woman of Simplicity, Ms. Heald wrote about rest.  The first verses were about resting on the seventh day that we might be refreshed no matter the time of year--Exodus 23:12 and 34:21.  I knew these verses, but the next question and verse took me by surprise.  It was Psalm 127:2 that I've quoted at the beginning of this post.  Ms. Heald shared that "It is hard for me to be patient or calm when I am tired.  If we are to be women with a gentle and quiet spirit, we need to be good stewards of our bodies by getting enough sleep." p.123

I sat and cried, thankful for the Lord's encouragement.  I know that I take things into my own hands feeling like I must continue toiling till all that could possibly be done is done.  Rather, I need to stop, rest, and start again the next day.  Resting is part of trusting God to order my day.  I hadn't quite seen it that way until this morning.  

I just finished this study this morning.  I am thankful for its encouragement and all of the lessons God has taught me through it.  Like the other studies in this series, Ms. Heald encourages the reader to dig into God's Word and sit with them.  In this book, she expounds a bit more than she does in other books, but I enjoyed all the stories she shared.  From the beginning, this study encouraged me because it didn't call me to shun the world or become something I don't think is even possible.  In a search for simplicity, many people shun the world and think that that will bring a sense of peace and rest.  I suppose for some it might.  But, I realize now that a sense of peace and rest comes more from trusting the Lord with our days rather than from simply "doing less".  Ms. Heald explains that the busyness of our world is never going to go away--so how can we live and rest in the Lord each day?  That is the question this study is about.  If you find yourself struggling to find peace with the Lord, I'd definitely recommend this study.  I've loved it.

Please note that I did receive a complimentary copy of this book from NavPress for review.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comparison of Verses

Tonight I was reading the Mom's Bible again (NCV) and compared this verse: NCV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, yield to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. 24 As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything. NIV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. The Message 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewis...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...
Post a Comment
Read more