Last night, Maggie the Wonder Dog wanted something. She scratched my leg, ran in circles trying to get my attention, and finally sat down and whimpered. I thought she wanted to go outside. She didn't. I tried putting her in my lap, thinking she wanted a snuggle. She didn't. It went on and on.
Finally, I stood up, put hands on hips, and demanded, "What do you want, Maggie? You'll have to show me." Maggie raced for the stairs. She wanted to go to bed. It was only 7:30. I was knitting and not ready for bed. She didn't care. There was a storm outside and she wanted her safe place.
She went to bed. I didn't.
Maggie has always been serious about sleep. I never have been.
I've always subscribed to Proverbs 20:13, which says, "Do not love sleep, lest you become poor..." Sleep, it has seemed, is a great way to do less and miss something important. "I can sleep when I'm dead," I usually say. (That's not technically true, because I'll be singing around the throne of God after I'm dead. Not sleeping.)
Recently, however, sleep has been on my mind a bit more. It started when I found my FitBit after a several week period of lostness. It was, for no sensible reason, under the driver's seat in my truck.
My dashboard now includes a report on my "sleep goal" progress.
Since I had not set a sleep goal, FitBit set one for me. Supposedly, I should get eight hours sleep. That's not likely to happen, because I'm not sure I've ever slept that long. This morning, though, I had a notice that said, "Congratulations. You met your sleep goal."
Yeah, right, I thought. The FitBit had recorded 8 hours and 29 minutes of sleep. Apparently, I am very still while reading in bed, because it counted some of my reading time. I'm not complaining. I met my goal (but only by being still... not by sleeping.)
The question of sleep goals (and not sleeping) brought a verse to mind.
"Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep."
Psalm 121:4 nasb
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It is a great comfort to me that God is always "up". He never misses the circumstances of my life because He's napping. He never sleeps through my distress. He is always awake, alert, and on the job.
No matter what we face, God is awake for it.
No matter how far we run, God is awake to see it.
He is never asleep. Never off duty. Never ignoring the world He created.
The "no sleeping verse" goes on to relate a truth worth remembering. Instead of sleeping, this is what God does:
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand...
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this day forth and forevermore.
Psalm 121: 5, 7, 8 nasb
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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith?
Consider my new e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. There's a link to give as a gift as well.)
Consider my new e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. There's a link to give as a gift as well.)
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The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#sleepgoal #Godneversleeps #disciple #JesusChrist #Christian
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#sleepgoal #Godneversleeps #disciple #JesusChrist #Christian
These verses from Psalm 121 are some of my favorite, Leanna. I am comforted by knowing that He is with me in all of my comings and goings.
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Sherry. His presence makes any path passable. Thanks.
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