Sleep is the Mattress of Dreams (Give it to God)

From Give It To God And Go To Bed by Laura Harris Smith on YouVersion

Matthew 6:25-32 ESV
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Many people bring sleep-disturbing distractions to bed with them every night in the form of stress, work and worry. These are what I call the three main thieves that steal your sleep, your dreams and your health. At some point after the sun goes down each day, you’ll have to make the choice to give it all to God and go to bed.

The alternative is that your troubles do jumping jacks in front of you and keep you up too late, either eating in the kitchen, vegging out on the living room sofa or slaving away in your home office.

Those other rooms and the activities you do in them distract you from making your way down the hall to the bedroom, where you rest and sleep, and where prophetic directional dreams from God await you. It’s vital for you to learn how to decompress nightly so your sleep can be sweet, your peace can be full and your health can be protected.

Job 33:14-18 ESV
For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man; he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.

One thing I’ve learned from my own experience with sleep deprivation is that if you don’t go to bed and sleep, your organs will go to sleep for you. Trust me, you don’t ever want to experience that scenario the way I did when I suffered adrenal burnout.

The key to good physical health is not just diet and exercise; it’s diet, exercise and sleep. And as I now believe and will never tire of saying, sleep doctors could put all the other doctors out of business, because once you fix your sleep, you fix your whole health!

Your bedroom is the room where you should spend one-third of your day—one-third of your life—resting. But sometimes we treat our bedrooms like a pit stop where we plunk down and lie unconsciously for a few hours after a hard day. But look around you.

Your bedroom should be a treasured place full of items that make you smile and bring you peace. It should be much more than a pit stop for you, your bills and your dirty laundry. It should be a place of inspiration, a sanctuary where the cares of your day melt away. A place where you can sleep so that God can communicate with you through your dreams, which can change your life. That is what happens when you give it all to God and go to bed!

John 10:27-30 ESV
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 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. I and the Father are one.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.