Scientists will be the first to tell us that what you ate, drank, thought of, or did in the night can affect the quality of sleep you get. In this world, we wake up from a nightmarish sleep feeling harassed, restless, confused, and depressed, but in contrast, after a good sleep, we wake up invigorated, revived and refreshed, healed and strengthened. If while on this earth, the way we wake up is determined by the kind of sleep we have had, how much more will the life we live here on earth will decide how we wake up in eternity.
Perhaps a deeper reflection about the fact that you sleep and wake up every day may help you gain a clearer understanding of just how great a blessing it is to be able to sleep and wake up. Imagine yourself, suddenly losing consciousness as you fall asleep. And you remain helpless in sleep for hours, only to suddenly regain consciousness again to the awareness of a new day? What did you do to make this happen? Nothing at all. What could you have done to make it happen? Nothing at all. And yet, you are blessed by the daily cycle of resting from your labour through sleeping and waking up with hope for a better day! Yet some arrogantly declare there is no God! Or stubbornly reject Him or exclude Him from their daily activities.
Have you not heard of those who cannot sleep until they swallow a pill? Have you not heard of the many multi-billionaire celebrities who cannot sleep until they take something? So many of them have died or committed suicide in the search for rest that has addicted them to the drugs that eventually kill them. Talk much less of the poor who have put their hope in the drugs that will not only blind them from seeing the opportunities staring them in the face, but will eventually kill them. And you wake up every morning without having to deal with this and say that there is no God?
Such people think that they just happen to be living, thinking, growing beings for no reason at all! How arrogant can a man get!!! Arrogance is actually the worst drug of all. It is what brought down Lucifer, the once revered angel, from his lofty heights. As the Bible so aptly puts it in Psalm 14 verse 1, Only fools say in their hearts “There is no God”. In other words, God considers all those who deny His Existence fools! But worse than fools are those who try to make themselves gods by ‘doing their own thing’ and resisting the love and patience of God Almighty. For these, John 3:18 says: … he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
I would dare to suggest that God introduced sleep into our system, not only for our spiritual, physical and emotional refreshing, but also to break the cycle of sin that we are subject to as long as we are here on earth. I say this because when describing the new heaven and the new earth, the book of Revelations states in chapter 21 , verse 25: … for there will be no night there, and again in Chapter 22 verse 5: There will be no more night… This possibility startled me until I remembered that in heaven, we will be living eternally, worshipping God perfectly and continuously in our thoughts, words and deeds in our glorified bodies that will be in perfect health! No room for any type of death there! Alleluia!
When we consider just how truly helpless we are when asleep, we should be reminded daily that we sleep and wake only because God loves us so much. Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22 to 23 captures this when it declares: The steadfast love of God never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. And by extension, we should never forget that we are here at God’s pleasure alone, and for His pleasure alone. (Revelations chapter 4, verse 11 states this clearly: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Our final destination after death will be in heaven or hell. There is nothing like purgatory or reincarnation in the Bible. Hebrews 9:27-28 states clearly: Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many.
Should the daily process of sleeping and waking therefore not make us reflect more deeply on the day of our death which is a form of sleep, only an eternal one? Should it not be a constant reminder of the need to prepare to meet our Maker for Judgment or Reward as the case may be?
And the most beautiful part of this is that this Great Salvation is available to you as well. It is by grace (unmerited favour) so no one can claim to deserve it. In case you have doubts about this, Apostle Paul’s reminder to believers in Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 buttresses this fact when he writes: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
This is why those who choose to reject Christ, preferring to ‘follow their hearts, do their own thing, and live without a care in the world’ will immediately wake up to eternal reality in hell as soon as they die. Only those who sleep in the Lord of Love and Peace will experience His Eternal Rest when they wake up in His Presence in heaven. The story of Lazarus and the rich man that Jesus Himself told us in Luke 16:22-23 makes this clear: The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.
To conclude, I appeal to the reader to make it a habit to reflect on the process of sleeping and waking. If you are one of those who do not believe in God, or in His great love for you, I urge you to do a rethink. Contrary to the false impression you may have, God is not averse to thinking as some claim. In fact, God calls out to you in Isaiah 1:18: Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Is there really anything else to say about sleeping and waking? I can’t think of any apart from the fact that the final sleep can happen to any of us at any time. This is why it is important for you to make the wise decision concerning God. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you’; behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”.
I pray you decide to follow Jesus today.
