Sleep on It

Nearly done with the tree house!

(Elijah) lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, and angel touched him, and said 

to him, "Arise and eat." (1 Kings 19:5)

When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. (Proverbs 6:22-23)

Have you ever noticed that the solution to a problem, or the answer to a major decision in life, seems more clear after you lie down?  We shouldn't be surprised. Neuroscientists  believe that the brain receives nutrients and believe that toxins are removed during sleep.  Researchers believe that the brain organizes and stores memories during sleep. And, I believe, God speaks to us as we sleep.

And, sometimes, angels come to us in the night.

When Elijah was on the run from Jezebel, he was led to a broom tree where he slept for two days before a forty-day journey to Mt. Horeb.  Angels came.  And it was God himself that spoke to young Samuel while he slept.   Jacob saw the ladder to heaven while he slept and Joseph dreamed dreams.  God appeared to Solomon in the dream where the king asked for wisdom.

Because wisdom, sometimes, comes in the night.

Over the last three months, working on the boys' tree house, I have often come up against various problems; Where should we build the tree house? How tall should the tree house be? How can the roof be sealed around the tree branch growing through the center? How are the kids going to get into the tree house when I remove the ladder?  How far apart should the floor joists be? Sometimes I can just call my friend Steve who has a lot of wisdom about tree house construction (and real house construction!). Sometimes, I don't even know how to ask Steve. Then, I just sleep on it.

After all, God speaks in the night.

I know, it is just a tree house, but it is also a backyard adventure, a secret hideout, a meeting place, and a place for boys to get off the ground and dream.  However, I am convinced that the solution to every problem that I have been faced with, not just with the tree house but in life...if I sleep on it...has become much clearer and often less scary.

And I believe that this is one of the main promises of Sabbath. We set down the hammer and nails and rest and allow God to speak to us, not just of floor joists, but of parental decisions and career moves, and relationships. God speaks to us, pragmatically, when we sleep, but also to that deep part of our minds connected to our hearts; that place where dreams live and we are reminded who we were created to be. 

Neuroscientists and researches talk about nocturnal brain activity in the form of nutrients and toxins and memories.  The faithful know that it is God that speaks in the night.

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.