A Word About Sleep

So, I am a fan of sleep. You might even say I love it. Yup, that's right. But you see, there is a problem with that, especially when I choose sleep over God. It seems a silly thing really, when you put it in such simple terms, but that it was He showed me today (I might add after I slept in, missing quiet time with him, and having a generally not good morning).I have been reading through the book of Acts and was supposed to be reading chapter 17, but I really wanted to read chapter 16 again. As I was reading, verse 25 jumped out at me:

"But about midnight Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns of praise to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them."

Now, usually when I have read that verse, I marvel at their ability to praise God when things are not going great, but something different hit me this morning; I noticed what time it was. It was midnight!! I was thinking, "Man, what about sleep?!" They had had a long day, weren't they tired? Probably. But they had caught on to something that I had been missing the past little bit: God satisfies the body more than sleep. In fact, He alone satisfies!

I was convicted about my attitude and knew God had more to say, so being far away from a computer and my giant Strong's Concordance, I resorted to the back of the Bible and looked up "sleep." I found Proverbs 20:13 which reads:

"Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
open your eyes and you will be satisfied with food."

On first glance, this verse can be taken very literally, but the Lord had more for me, particularly the last part of the verse. The Lord was calling to me saying, "Open your eyes! Get out of bed! I satisfy you more than sleep! Arise and be satisfied by me, the bread of life!" This verse is now posted up by my bed so every morning I can be reminded of this promise. The interesting part of all of this, is that I knew that the Lord wanted this for me, yet I didn't have something tangible in his word I could go to. Now I have a promise that is written right there in black and white for me to hang on to and be accountable for.

Another verse the Lord showed me regarding this topic was Psalm 59:14-16 which reads:

"They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
and go around the city.
They wander about for food
and growl if they are not satisfied.
But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes I shall joyfully sing of Your mercy in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the
days of my distress."

How often do I return to God at night, "growling" in a bad mood when I haven't been faithful to go to Him and be satisfied in the morning? More times than I would care to admit, that's for sure! When we I am not satisfied by Jesus in the morning, my day usually ends up like the Psalm; wandering around for something to satisfy me, growling and being generally dissatisfied; understandably so! Contrast David who proclaims, "But as for me... I shall joyfully sing of Your mercy in the morning!" Amen! This scripture is also posted by my bed as a reminder...

I hope that this speaks to y'all and encourages you as the Lord admonished and encouraged me.

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.' "
~John 6:35