Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, (Ecclesiastes 5:12 ESV)
Sleep
I sleep better after a day of hard work, than a day of loafing around. So my experience confirms what the author of Ecclesiastes writes here.
But the context of this proverbial statement goes beyond ‘sleep pattern analysis.’ Sleep is not just a body’s natural revitalization process.
Sleep is a gift from God. Yes, because our bodies and minds need sleep. But also, because in sleep we taste slightly of our Eternal Rest. In sleep we can find solace from our sins and sin’s effects. In sleep, God performs an amazing act, still not fully understood by modern medicine, in which we are freed from so much suffering. In sleep, we are blessed by God.
So nearly every night, for nearly eight hours, we receive another blessing from God. And like His other blessings, He does not give it to us as a reward, or a payment, or the result of our efforts. But it is given to us because of His Grace.
What a blessing sleep is.