God Grants Sleep to Those He Loves
April 24, 2007
My Son, Sleeping–
Psalm 127
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
Or, the Amplified says:
2It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil–for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.
There can be physical reasons that prevent good sleep. But, as a principle, Lord Jesus Christ promises His people rest, and is grieved when they don’t ”find it” (see also (Hebrews 4) .
There is a “balance” being ”being” and “doing”. I read the other day on someone’s blog that they were reminded that the English language calls us human “be-ings”, not a human “do”ings.
Do you know how to find rest when you’re weary? I pray for your rest and refreshment in God’s energizing presence:
“I labor with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me”. (book of Colossians, I believe, BibleGateway isn’t bringing it up for me…I’ll have to dig.)
Entry Filed under: Christianity, Digital Photography, Digital Scrapbooking, Faith, Rest. Tags: Scrapbooking.
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1. Tariq Khan | April 24, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Maggie,
Doesn’t it seem that we schedule everything except rest? I wonder how much different out lives would be if we simply scheduled time to rest and play.
Mag replies:
So right, T. You know, I have gotten to where I plan for naps on high load days… I can’t go all day the way some can. My husband plans to cover for me on those afternoons. I do the same for him. I met someone once who said, “My wife never helps me get a nap.” Oh, I felt for that poor soul! One of the greatest gifts we give each other is a quiet house so they other can catch up when demands have pulled us down! Such a planning challenge, but always worth it! None of us run very well on a “flat tire”!
Challenge Question: How do you play to “play” when ministry becomes your work & love, and your “normal work” then becomes your ‘down time’ after the stress of ministry? What time is left?
2. Connie Barris | April 24, 2007 at 6:01 pm
A few months ago I took a sabbatical… not by choice. During that time, I ended up studying the Bible on rest… Amazing how much time Jesus took to rest… it is so important… now I do schedule rest…
if we don’t do it, God will arrange it for us…
I’d rather do it myself,,, smile….
blessings,,, beautifully said, also
and I so love the name Maggie….. if my son had been a girl that is what I was going to name her.. after my grandmother….
Connie
Maggie replies:
We are so silly sometimes, eh?
Dear Connie,
(Connie is such a young and friendly sounding name as well, I think of energy and zest for life, someone with a smile tucked away for every occasion).
A funny story regarding the name…it’s a screen-name I use for several reasons. (See: Safe Blogging Tips on my header). I got an email from someone I’ve been in contact with for MONTHS. Neither my screenname or my given name were stereotypically “young” sounding names. The person said, “I just saw your blog picture, you are young and pretty, not oldl!” People have overguessed my age since I was a young girl. I’m kind of hoping at “middle age” that I’m catching up with it! Thanks for the compliment! I was starting to hate to sign my name since that!!!
You are SO right on rest. Very eloquently said. We are slow to learn when it comes to that, aren’t we? When He said, “He MAKES ME to lie down in green pastures…I’m always thinking, “Yup, He usually has to MAKE ME!” But, then he restores my soul. I don’t know what they Hebrew is there in “make”. Be fun to search out!
3. storbakken | April 25, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Great pic and great verse. It looks like a professional shot. Hope you have a great week!
Jason
Mag: That’s because I’m such a professional Mommy!
It’s easy to get good shots when kids are sleeping…it’s when they are AWAKE that it gets a mite bit tricky! Isn’t he just a doll? (I just can’t help myself.)
4. Chris | April 25, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Beautiful! I love the scripture you chose to put with it. It sounds like the alotment of sleep ganted to my little one just expired. Thanks for sharing.
5. Munish | October 18, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Maggie,
Thank you so much for that verse! Its quite wonderful to hear them– I’ve heard snippets of the verses from Psalm 127:1 and verse 2, but I never saw that emphasis on rest in those verses (from Hebrews and from Psalm 127) before. Also, the Amplified version brought the verses from Psalm 127 to life, which is really unique
On making us lie down in green pastures: I heard someone talk about this idea from W. Phillip Keller’s book “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23″– its as you say, the Lord may have to force us to stay in His pasture which He knows is best, even though we may be prone to wander from it; in sheep, the shepherds may have to break the leg of the sheep that wanders in order to ensure that the sheep stay in that pasture and don’t wander off and stay safe, secure and under the watchful eye and loving care of that shepherd. God sometimes has to really make us to lie down.
Colossians 1:29 might have been the verse you were looking for:
“To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which powerfully works within me.”
Thank you so much for the wonderful reminders of the verses of His wonderful rest