Sweet Sleep

Scripture: Proverbs 3:24 – “If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” (NRSVue)

As I write this, it is the middle of the night, and I have been unable to get back to sleep. There are several reasons for this. First, I don’t have air conditioning in my house, and it is a bit too warm. Second, for some reason I cannot stop thinking about Shakespeare’s history plays. Third, I am a bit worried about the state of things in the world. Maybe the second is trying to distract me from the third and it is not working.

Whether it is at times of social volatility and times of personal or family stress, there seems to be a lot that can keep us up at night. But part of faith is finding comfort when you need it the most.

Luckily, our Bible is full of comfort, and like God, it comes to us in endless variety. Some find comfort in the emotional language of the Psalms. Some in the promises of being on the right side of history like the prophets. Some in the teachings of hope through the resurrection like the letters of Paul. But some seek assurance through ideas, reason, and wisdom, and this is what we find in the Book of Proverbs.

Proverbs is an amalgamation of various wisdom traditions from across the centuries. Some of these are the witty two-line aphorisms that give the book its name. But the beginning is more poetic and philosophical in its tone. It speaks of God’s law and God’s love as being part of an ethical tradition that brings peace and understanding beyond what the foolishness of the world teaches. The speaker in this first section is a wise father trying to impart wisdom to his children.

In Proverbs 3, the father talks about how wisdom can be the foundation of comfort. If you are wise, if you know and follow the commandments, and if you choose justice and peace with your neighbor rather than greed and violence, then you will find the comfort you need in times of restlessness, panic, or fear. To me, who can be more of a thinker than a feeler, knowing that the promises of God matter gives me comfort. It is the hope that loving your neighbor can be the foundation of a good life and can silence those voices that keep me up at night.

I pray that you find your comfort however you can, for God is seeking you out to love you. God promises to walk beside you, to give you a vision of hope, the pick you up when you stumble, and to cradle you when you cannot sleep. Seek the wisdom of the Lord in any way you can today. It will give you the strength to face tomorrow.

Prayer: Loving God, grant me wisdom that I may see you amid the troubles of my life. Amen.