Want Jehovah's Blessing? When All Else Fails...GO TO SLEEP!!

[Timl1980]

Yes, you read that correctly...and I will prove it...scripturally.

 

Psalms 127:1,2: "Unless Jehovah builds the house, It is in vain that its builders work hard on it. Unless Jehovah guards the city, It is in vain that the guard stays awake.2 It is in vain that you rise up early, That you stay up late, That you toil for your food, Since he provides for his loved ones while giving them sleep."

 

First...please note the searing pointedness with which David starts this Psalm...verse 1 does NOT say, "unless Jehovah consents and is WILLING for the house to be built...or that Jehovah ALLOWS the city to be guarded...no, friends...it says unless JEHOVAH builds...unless JEHOVAH guards. 

 

In other words...JEHOVAH IS WORKING ON YOUR BEHALF...and without that...our character, our plans for life and the work we wish to accomplish, our happiness...indeed, the very HOPE of everlasting life...every last bit of it would be in utter vain.

 

My dear brothers and sisters...I had to look carefully at verses 1 and 2...because a very kind elder pointed something out to me that I had completely missed...and I wanted to take a few moments and pass that on to all of you this evening.

 

First...he asked me to list the top three things I could think of that Satan's world had to offer us...and I said power, wealth and distinction, (something that will "permanently" set you apart from the rest of humankind...for all time).

 

He nodded...and then asked me to read verse 2...and to focus on what Jehovah provides instead.

 

SLEEP???

 

Just provisions and...sleep?

 

Here, friends...is what this dear brother told me: 

 

"Just think, Tim...to give us sleep when there is a raging storm of a problem just outside our windows...rattling our house and uprooting trees all over the area...JUST THINK...sleep when our conscience is overwhelming us with all of our past and present mistakes and sins...sleep when Satan and his demons are in the furious midst of trying to rip our faith and love for Jehovah into tiny shreds!!

 

What gift could be more suitable...more worthy coming from Almighty God...or more suitable to a pathetic human like me?

 

And finally...this loving brother pointed out something that has resonated deeply with me ever since: 

 

"Tim...please take a few moments to really consider the benefits of something as simple as sleep. Every night it works to renew our health and the vigor of our bodies...it provides mental rest and refreshment...our thoughts coalesce and turn sweeter and more purposeful...but there is one benefit that trumps all of the rest of these combined. Any ideas on what it is?"

 

Of course, I didn't...so I just waited for him to enlighten me...and he definitely didn't disappoint!

 

"What happens when you're asleep? You're unconscious, right? Do you get it yet?"

 

Of course, I didn't...so I just shook my head and waited.

 

"When you are asleep...when you are at your most vulnerable...when you can do absolutely nothing for yourself...that is often when Jehovah takes over and does the impossible."

 

So please, my dear brothers and sisters...when you feel you can do nothing more...do the one thing Satan doesn't expect and the one thing Jehovah is waiting for...go to sleep!

 

 

 

 

 

[1MKnight]

He went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he asked that he might die. He said: “It is enough! Now, O Jehovah, take my life away, for I am no better than my forefathers.” 5 Then he lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree. But suddenly an angel touched him and said to him: “Get up and eat.”  6 When he looked, there at his head was a round loaf on heated stones and a jug of water. He ate and drank and lay down again.  7 Later the angel of Jehovah came back a second time and touched him and said: “Get up and eat, for the journey will be too much for you.”  8 So he got up and ate and drank, and in the strength of that nourishment he went on for 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horʹeb, the mountain of the true God. (1 Kings 19:4-8)

 

When Elijah was at his lowest, Jehovah strengthened him with a little food and a lot of sleep. 
 

Great points brother. Thanks for sharing. 

[WestBro]

This reminded me of an article of Watchtower (w01 5/1 p. 18 §19):

 

Quote

Learning to go to bed at a reasonable hour may help put us back on track. A little extra rest can go a long way. N. H. Knorr, who served as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses until his death, used to tell missionaries: “When you get discouraged, the first thing to do is to get some rest. You will be surprised how much better almost any problem seems after you have had a good night’s sleep!”