Sleep

A few weeks ago, I told you of a sleep study that produced my diagnosis of sleep apnea.  Last night I went back to the polysomnography center to calibrate a CPAP machine to my specific needs.

The room is much like a hotel room.  The difference are the wires, the infrared camera and microphone, by which the technician monitors the patient while he sleeps,.  It is slightly creepy to think that someone will watch you all night and be ready to respond whenever you call out or wake up (as I did several times due to the discomfort of the mask.) 

But I thought of Psalms 3:5, "I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me."  Like the technician who monitored me all night, "[Your] Guardian will not fall asleep. Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps." (Psalms 121:3-4)  God watching over me and responding to my cries for help?  I'm good with that!

The Bible actually says a lot about sleep.  (OK, depending on the translation you use, it is often a euphemism for sex.)  It was while he slept that Delilah cut off the Samson's hair, rendering him powerless. David had the chance to kill Saul as he slept.  We, too, are vulnerable and exposed while we sleep.  But Samson and Saul had disobeyed God, so they had reason to be afraid.  For obedient followers of God, "When you lie down, you will not be afraid..."  (Proverbs 3:24)  All we need do is call out to Him in the night, as I did to the technician, and God will respond.