Sleep is often talked about negatively in the church today. We examine sleep from the perspective of laziness. That too much sleep or rest is to take away or have hearts not focused on God, but more on yourself. While partially true (there is a limit to how much you should sleep — not 12 hours!), I would argue that sleep is not only a gift from God above, but it is also a way to show trust and faith in our great God.

Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
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.

-Psalm 127:1,2

There are two things to notice here.

1. Sleep is a gift from God: “for he gives to his beloved sleep.”
Sleep is given to us! God has created sleep for our own good. Not only has God given us sleep as a gift, he gives it lovingly, as shown by the term of endearment “beloved”.

2. To stay awake in anxiousness is vain. “eating the bread of anxious toil”
Notice the build up to the phrase “for he gives to his beloved sleep.” Since our LORD is in full, complete, and sufficient control, why do we lay awake anxious? Do we really trust in our sovereign God? This psalm by Solomon makes it very clear that to stay up or wake early in anxiousness is a clear distrust in the control our father in heaven has over all things.

Proverbs 3:24 expands on this point:

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

So, when we lay to slumber, do we think about God? Do we praise God for the ability to fall into slumber and not be anxious about work, school, family, friends, “enemies”, failures, successes? God has provided us with sleep as a gift, and if we trust in his goodness and sufficiency, our sleep can be sweet for the glory of His name.

(For more on biblical understanding of sleep, check out C.J. Mahaney’s message on sleep here).