SLEEPING
FOR SORROW!
Luke
22:44-45
44
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were
great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45
And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them
sleeping for sorrow,
Ps
127:1-2
A
Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in
vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in
vain.
2
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows:
for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Many
who comment
on Luke 22:45 are quick to point out the disciples’ negligence in prayer but a
closer look indicates that they were responding to their psychological and
spiritual trauma in the only way they had available. They shut down! They went
to sleep.
In
Psalm 127, the psalmist urges Solomon to release some of the stress of building the
Lord’s house to the Lord. Sometimes the details of a project will cause the
mind to keep working and making adjustments to plans and schematics until the
mind is satisfied. The psalm also mentions “the bread of sorrows” which
indicate extreme toil. Instead of producing sleep, weariness and worry drove
sleep away.
Elijah
had battled the prophets of Baal while fasting. When Jezebel
made her threat it was just too much for him and he laid himself down under a
Juniper tree and requested to die! Angels came providing food and drink. 1
Kings 19:6 tells us that he work up only long enough to eat and then
“laid him down again!”
Not
everyone will display all of the physical effects of grief. Crying and
sighing are very prevalent effects. Many people become lethargic and complain
of fatigue. Some people experience sleeplessness, while others sleep
constantly. Some become quiet while others chatter like a magpie. Warren
Wiersbe says: “When the heart is heavy and the mind and body are weary,
sometimes the best remedy is sleep!”
Dear
Lord, some are weary today, others are grieving, and still others are
anticipating a long and weary journey. Give them aid and rest today. AMEN
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