How Do We Faithfully Live within Our Finitude?

Sleep

We don’t tend to address sleep as a spiritual topic but see it only as a physical reality: we go through our days, and whenever we are finally done and tired, we go to sleep. There is nothing more to it really, is there? Maybe there is: when we are deprived of sleep for an extended time, we quickly see just how essential it is to human existence—not only do we get grumpy and often sick, but our hearts also grow more open to sin, doubts, self-condemnation, and fears.

Sleep reminds us every day that we are creatures rather than the Creator. God never sleeps. We usually take that for granted, but we should stop and think about it for a minute. Never. Ever. Sleeps. This gives profound comfort to vulnerable creatures who live in a hostile world. When you are on the front lines, you can’t sleep unless someone is there to watch your back. If we don’t believe in God, sleep can terrify us because it means that no one is looking out for us. Sleep reminds believers that we don’t sustain the world, but God does.

Sleep is a spiritual discipline that daily reminds us of our lack of control. Just as a king is not saved simply by the size of his army or a warrior by his strength alone (Ps. 33:16–18), so we are not strong enough to rescue ourselves: we are never strong enough, we can never know enough, we can never do enough to eliminate our vulnerability. And so sleep is an act of faith. It requires us to see our finitude as a good part of God’s design for us.