How does better sleep sound to you? Do you struggle getting a good night’s sleep? Many people o struggle for better sleep and even become anxious — concerned that either they will have difficulty falling asleep or they will wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep.
There are many options that one can try to help with sleep. I list several of these sleep hygiene tips at the end of my blog below.
I am not a sleep expert, but one thing I know: God loves us, cares for us, and wants us to rest. So, today, I would like to propose another strategy for helping to get a good night’s rest. This strategy is following the Bible. The Bible has much to say about rest, how to manage stress, and what can be helpful before you fall asleep and if you wake up in the middle of the night. Having these verses and meditating on these verses can be extremely helpful.
We are not Alone - A Shepherd to Protect us in our Sleep
Have you ever heard the advice to count sheep to help you fall asleep? Some say this hearkens back to centuries ago when shepherds counted their sheep to make sure none were missing before they went to sleep. Make sense, but how about we envision for a moment the Good Shepherd, Jesus. Jesus makes an amazing metaphor about His relationship to those who follow in this passage in John 10. Let’s take a few minutes to read these passages and then see what might be helpful as 3 practiced for us to use in gaining better sleep.
Jesus Guards The Door of Your Sleep Environment
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Shepherds would lead their sheep to pasture during the day but would often lead them back to a gated area where the sheep were protected from animals or people who might want to steal or kill them. There was one door to this area. The shepherd would lead his sheep into the pen and perhaps counted each one to make sure all were accounted for. As each sheep would come to the door, the shepherd would anoint them if they were wounded and would give them water to drink. Then the shepherd would lay across the door to protect his sheep.
How does this help with sleep? If you are a believer in Jesus, you are one of His sheep. At the end of a long day, the Shepherd calls you and leads you into your environment so that you can rest. He cares for your wounds and gives you living water to drink. He then lays Himself down at the door to your room offering you complete protection from the enemy who wants to distract you and bring up anxious thoughts and worries.
Jesus is your Good Shepherd
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.
What is beautiful about these verses are the depth of Jesus love. He lays down His life, he knows each one of them, He holds them in His hands and no one can take them from Him. Jesus knows you and calls you by name. On your bed, hear Jesus saying your name and telling you He loves you and you are perfectly safe.
Bedtime is normally the most quiet part of the day. Embrace this moment of quiet and listen to the voice of Jesus calling out to you and telling you: “its time to rest, little one. You are safe now.”
Experience the Good Shepherd
There are many interesting videos on Youtube that demonstrate the relationship between the shepherd and his or her sheep. It is a beautiful thing to watch as the shepherd calls the sheep and how the sheep respond. It is a beautiful relationship and gives us such a visual representation of the relationship we can have with Him.
In the video, three people, posing as shepherds, call out to the sheep and the sheep totally ignore them because they know this isn’t the voice of the shepherd. But then the shepherd calls and immediately the sheep begin to respond and then run toward the shepherd who greets them and cares for them.
Think about all of the voices that call out to you, especially as you prepare to sleep and when you wake up in the middle of the night. What might happen with our sleep if the only voice we were attuned to was the voice of Jesus?
3 Practices For Better Sleep
From our discussion above, here are three practices that you can try that may benefit your sleep. Remember, practice takes time. You may experience quick results, but more than likely it will take some time to reorient your patterns to embrace the fullness of God as you sleep.
Practice 1: Imagine Jesus Laying At Your Door
One better sleep habit to adopt is to imagine laying at your door keeping watch over you as you sleep. There is nothing that can harm you. As random thoughts come, let them go and return to rest your eyes on your Shepherd. If an emotional wound comes up, take them to Jesus and let Him heal your wound.
Practice 2: Breath Prayer to Listen to Jesus Voice
A second better sleep habit is the idea is to slow down and just breathe. When you do, receive these words from Jesus:
Breathe in: “it’s time to rest, little one.”
Breathe out: “You are safe now.”
Practice 3: Focus on Jesus Voice
A third better sleep practice is to be like those sheep and learn to totally ignore any voice that is not of Jesus. This takes practice, but with time you can train yourself to focus only on the Shepherd’s voice. As you sit or lay down quietly, take notice of your thoughts and discern whether they are from God or not. If not, imagine them floating away and return your attention to Jesus.
Additional Sleep Information
I promised you a list of conventional sleep hygiene tips. These include:
- Establishing a regular sleep schedule
- Developing a bedtime routine that promotes relaxation
- Improving your sleep environment such as keeping it dark, a cooler room temperature, and comfortable mattress and pillows
- Create habits during the day that can be helpful for sleep later. These include; not eating 2-3 hours before bed, not exercising too late in the day, limiting alcohol.
- Managing your stress. A good program is CBT-I(Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia). A CBT-I practitioner may agree the Bible insight we are walking through together is valuable thought replacement.practicement. Click here for more information
I hope you have found this blog helpful, for your sleep and also as a reminder of how much God cares for you. In the next post, we will discuss Sleep Anxiety.
