March 25

Refreshing Sleep

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. — Prov 3:24 BSB

Is the reader likely to be confined to bed for a while due to illness? Let him go to his room without fear, holding this promise close to his heart: “When you lie down, you will not be afraid.”

When we go to bed at night, let this word soothe our minds. We cannot protect ourselves while we sleep, but the Lord will watch over us through the night. Those who lie down under the Lord’s protection are as safe as kings and queens in their palaces—indeed, far safer. If we lay down our cares and worries along with our bodies, we will find refreshment in our beds that the anxious and greedy never experience. Bad dreams may come, but even if they do, we can brush them aside, knowing they are only dreams.

If we sleep in this way, we will do well. How sweetly Peter slept, so deeply that even the angel’s light didn’t wake him; he needed a hard nudge in the side to rouse him. Yet he was sentenced to die the next day. This is how martyrs have slept before facing their execution. “So He gives His beloved sleep.” To enjoy sweet sleep, we must live sweet lives, have sweet tempers, meditate on sweet thoughts, and harbor sweet love.