Here is what I believe we need to learn. We need to pray as we go about our day, over the appointments we make and the to-do list we put together. Then we need to work hard, in order to make the most of God’s time God gives us.  Finally, we should go to bed at a good time, trusting that God will give us the rest we desire and the protection we need.

Bedtime. It is, hands down, my favorite time of day! There is not much better than sitting in my bed reading, watching shows or working on the computer, but the best part is snuggling deep under our fluffy comforter and going to sleep.  I am getting all giddy just thinking about it.

As Christians I don’t think we give sleep much thought. I know I don’t.  We know that our bodies need it and we acknowledge that it is a gift of God. But it turns out that there is more to it.

While Spurgeon has been with the Lord for quite some time, his writings continue to teach us.  In his commentary on Psalm 3 he mentions two kinds of sleep,  the sleep of presumption and the sleep of holy confidence. I’d like to unpack that a little bit. 

THE SLEEP OF PRESUMPTION

There are some who love sleep so much that they put off the things that need to get done in order to get that nap or those extra hours of sleep at night. While I am all for naps and sleeping in, we are in danger when we assume that we will have plenty of hours available to us to get our work done, whether it is doing those dishes, writing that paper or calling our friend.

We believe God owes us. He owes us those extra hours. He should give us tomorrow despite the fact that we wasted today. This is presuming on God’s grace.

Every night our 4 year old asks me if Joe or I will check on him before we go to bed. And every night I assure him that we will, to which he replies, “But will you check on me before God closes my eyes?” He understands something about sleep that I often forget. Both work and sleep are gifts from God and must be stewarded well.  

“Not a man would close his eyes, did not God put his fingers on his eyelids; did not the Almighty send a soft and balmy influence over his frame which lulled his thoughts into quiescence, making him enter into that blissful state of rest which we call sleep.”
– Spurgeon

THE SLEEP OF HOLY CONFIDENCE

In Psalm 3:5-6 David is being hounded by his enemies. He has to hide from his own son, his life is in danger and yet he talks about being able to sleep in peace.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]