Tag: rest

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Finding Sweet Sleep: Biblical Wisdom from Proverbs 3

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Shane on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Proverbs 3.

There is no shortage of advice on how to get a good night’s sleep. No screens an hour before bedtime. No eating or drinking a couple hours before. No caffeine after lunch. An evening workout. A warm bath. A good book. A cool room. A comfortable bed, pillow, and sheets.

Benedryl, melatonin, Ambien, Sominex, warm milk, almonds, high-carb snack.

Those are just the ones I’ve recently heard. I’m sure there are many more.

I came across this one in the bible:

If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet (Proverbs 3:23)

Sounds good. What is the secret to that sweet sleep?

It starts a few verses earlier, in the encouragement to find wisdom and understanding.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
    and the one who gets understanding (Proverbs 3:13).

The writer isn’t talking about any wisdom and understanding, but that which comes from trusting God, leaning on God, fearing God, honoring God, and following his ways.

My son, do not lose sight of these—
    keep sound wisdom and discretion,
and they will be life for your soul
    and adornment for your neck (Proverbs 3:21,22).

Then you will walk on your way securely,
    and your foot will not stumble.
If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet (Proverbs 3:23,24).

A life rooted and built up in Christ, a faith firmly established in him, full of gratitude is safe and secure. You can rest easy and sleep well because you know he’s taking care of you.

I think it’s interesting that sleep has a spiritual as well as a physical dimension. It’s as much about resting your soul as it is getting rest for your body. In the bible, a soul thirsts, hungers, gets weary and needs rest.

How nice to know that God arranges for that. He’s faithful, powerful, wise, and understanding. His steadfast love endures forever. You don’t have to worry. You can rest easy.

And you can get some sweet, sweet sleep.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Get some rest

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Shane on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from 1 Kings 19.

The puppies and small grandchildren who run around our house seem to have limitless energy. They run full out until I tuck them into bed. That’s when they crash and immediately fall asleep.

After the fire of the Lord consumes Elijah’s sacrifice and he slaughters the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:38,40), Jezebel threatens his life (1 Kings 19:2).

After a day’s hike in the desert, Elijah prays, “Lord, take away my life” (19:4). I’ve had it. I quit.

He falls asleep and wakes to find an angel encouraging him to eat. After a second nap and meal, he takes a forty-day trip to a mountain called Horeb. Here, God speaks to him in a low whisper instructing him to anoints kings and a successor to be prophet in his place (19:15,16).

I think this is a great example of what we would call “self care.” Of course, it’s God who provides the physical and spiritual restoration. It was a great day on Mount Carmel. But even a prophet crashes when the adrenaline wears off. We weren’t designed to run full throttle forever. We were created needing rest. Without it, we get sick or our bodies break down. So will our souls, unless we take some time to rest.

Never feel guilty about taking care of yourself. Never feel guilty when God sends someone else along to care for you. He knows you need it.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Take care of your soul

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on pexels

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 4.

The monthly car payment fits into your budget. Sweet! Now, what about the maintenance and upkeep? What? A good rule of thumb is to set aside at least as much as the payment each month for things like oil changes, tires, tire rotations, filters, and cleaning supplies. Yikes. Those things add up quickly.

As he reviewed the law for the people, Moses said, “Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

I know how to take care of my body. I know how to maintain a car. But how do I care for my soul? Souls get hungry, thirsty, and tired. My soul needs rest and sustenance, too. How do I do that?

Anxiety. Fear. Doubt. Worry. Panic. Restlessness. Impatience. Those could all be signs that my soul needs something. My soul needs to remember what God has done for me, the future he’s secured for me, and his mercies I’m experiencing today. When Jesus calls himself the bread of life, he invites us to come to him and drink, and is described as our Sabbath rest, he’s nothing less than a much-needed buffet for my soul.

Fix your eyes on him.

Posted in Sunday

Sunday-ing on a cool, rainy morning

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The usual morning routine? Forget it. These two just went back to bed.

As usual, Willow’s singing greeted me as soon as I got out of bed at six-ish in the morning. She’s the three-and-a-half-old Great Dane, and I don’t completely trust her yet, so as soon as I open up her crate, I let her into the backyard, where she immediately takes care of business, both numbers one and two.

When we come back inside, we let Winston (the Westie) out of his crate. He would gladly sleep in another few hours, but he doesn’t want to miss anything, so he trots out to see what’s up. Both intently watch me as I get their food and set it out on opposite sides of the gate. I announce, “Okay,” and nothing else matters. In under a minute, the food is gone.

We then head out back so Winston can do his thing in the backyard. From there, the dogs usually wrestle around, chew on some pine cones, fight over stuffed animal toys, play some tug of war with an old rope, and drink water like they’ve just crossed the dessert.

But this morning was different. Fifty-degree temperatures and a light steady rain prompted a new agenda. After a quick breakfast and visit to the backyard, both dogs went back to sleep. Willow curled up in one of her favorite chairs while Winston chose the dog bed up on the patio table.

If you’re going to Sunday, you might as well do it right.

Posted in 2022 Lent Devotions

Take a break

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Mirror of the Passion” Lent devotion for April 9, 2022. Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. (Luke 23:56)

So much has happened in the past week. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, cleared out the temple, ate the Passover with the disciples, and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas betrayed him, the council condemned him, and Pilate handed him over to be crucified. Jesus died, they wrapped his body in linen, and placed in him the tomb. Whew! They (and we) could use a break. It’s like getting back from a vacation and thinking, “I need a vacation after my vacation.”

On the one hand, nothing has changed. Every seventh day was still a Sabbath, a day of rest. At sunset on Friday, Jewish families would (and still do) gather in their homes to light candles and pray. Rather than going to work on Saturday, you went to the synagogue, where the rabbi would read the scriptures and teach. After a break from routine, Sunday would be a new day and a new week.

I wonder how anyone who witnessed Jesus’ death could sit there in the synagogue and pay attention. My mind would have been filled with the images of the crucifixion. How could that happen? How could anyone do that to Jesus? Now what?

Well, life goes on. Everyone did what everyone did on the Sabbath. It’s like nothing special had happened in or outside of Jerusalem. Nothing had changed.

But it is unusually quiet. The demons aren’t running amuck in the streets. They aren’t celebrating a victory over the Christ. They are strangely silent. Do you think they knew? Do you think they knew something was up? Did they suspect it wasn’t over yet?

It’s hard to rest. What I mean is, we admire busyness and accomplishment, so we feel guilty if we don’t get something productive done. It’s always been that way. That’s why God commanded the Sabbath. He knew we wouldn’t stop unless he made us. And he made us needing rest. We need daily rest, weekly rest, seasons of rest, and most days, a nap.

Even if Jesus is dead, if he’s in the tomb, if your hopes have been shattered, you still need rest. Even if the tomb is empty, Jesus is risen (he is risen indeed!), and death has been defeated, you still need rest.

What a blessing to know that we can rest easy, knowing that our past has been redeemed, our future is secure, and today he’s ready to do more than we could ask or imagine!

Thank you for the sweet, sweet rest of your grace, Lord.