Celestial Insomnia

Chronic insomnia? Are you one of the millions of people who won’t sleep tonight? Those questions recently caught my attention in a magazine mailer. The advertisement went on to invite readers who answered “YES” to participate in a clinical research study.

All of us have experienced the frustration of wrestling the bed sheets from dusk till dawn unable to get any shut eye. For most of us, however, this is an occasional occurrence rather than the norm. When it does crop up, the outcome is usually a tendency to drop off to sleep later on that day at some inopportune moment – dozing through a boring committee meeting, or perhaps a monotonous college lecture.

While going through my initial program of clinical pastoral education, one of my fellow classmates in-training consistently slept through our daily “group sessions.” Now, you might wonder, “How on earth could he get away with that?” But with an instructor who was blind, it was not that difficult! I often wondered if the student was sleep deprived, or just found it easier to “check out.”

Under trying circumstances it’s hard to stay engaged, isn’t it? Even Jesus’ disciples couldn’t seem to stay awake with Him when He agonized in the garden of Gethsemane prior to His crucifixion. According to the gospel of Luke (22:45) the disciples were sleeping because of their sorrow.

God Is Always Awake

But I’m happy to tell you that God is always awake. No encounter with us is too long, or boring to warrant a busy signal. No request is so trying or draining as to produce sleep. In fact, in the Psalm 121:3, 4, we learn that the God who watches over us does not slumber or sleep!

Imagine that! The Lord is a hopeless insomniac! Not! But our every request receives the attention and consideration of a God who is always engaged and desires the best for us. Of course, like any wise parent, our Creator doesn’t always give us what we want. Yet, God delights to shower on us that which will be for our best good. And, it’s comforting to know that the Almighty doesn’t even take “cat naps.”