Sleep. It’s one of the simple pleasures that are lost to new mothers. While my wife and I await our second child in a month, we know sleep will inevitably (and joyfully) be sacrificed. With less sleep, we know we’ll be more tired, more grouchy, and probably more unhealthy (I gained like 10 pounds during our first). Not until I experienced such a lack of sleep, did I realize how important sleep is to our bodies. It doesn’t just give us energy for the next day, it heals you. Sleep heals your brain, your bones, your skin, your heart, your immune system, and even makes you more fertile. SLEEP IS AMAZING!
Today, there is not a single person who hasn’t been affected by COVID-19. Stadiums and restaurants are empty. Offices and schools have shut down. Chaos and uncertainty cloud families and the economy. And for some odd reason, toilet paper is flying off the shelves. Today, there are over 350,000 cases and over 15,000 deaths from the virus; and the numbers seem to only be increasing exponentially. This is a pandemic we have never seen nor experienced.
But as I reflect amidst our current season, I cannot help but ask the question: What are you doing here God? Why are you stopping our economy, our work, our lives across the world? Why are you allowing suffering caused by all the stoppage and sickness?
Then it hit me: What if God wants us to stop, so that we can all sleep? So that we can all finally stop and rest.
Globalization has built up a global culture of being overworked. Employees are being overworked with too many hours and expectations. Companies are being overworked to maximize the never-ending goal of productivity and profitability. Families are being overworked to maintain the balance of school, work, and extracurricular activities. Churches are being overworked with always trying to produce better sermons, better worship services, and better programs. Even creation is being overworked with the constant farming, drilling, and draining of its resources…
But now, as the world has paused, many of us are forced to stop, wait, and maybe, sleep.
In Scripture, when we look at the Law given to the Israelites after their release from Egypt, the command to stop and rest on the Sabbath is included in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8-11). God took this command so seriously that if you even lifted sticks for firewood, you would be put to death (Ex. 31:15; Num. 15:32-36). And to take the idea of Sabbath further, God established a Sabbath Year, which gave the land rest on every seventh year (Lev. 25:1-7). And then God established the Year of Jubilee, where the land would have rest, debt would be forgiven, property would be restored, and slaves would be freed (Lev. 25:8-55). God didn’t mess around when it came to stopping and resting.
Because when creation stops and rests, God can begin to heal.
Now in no way is this pandemic a “good virus”. Sickness, death, and suffering are all consequences of sin. Everything done to protect society and help those in need should be made a priority all across the world.
But, perhaps God is allowing COVID-19 to get the world’s attention. Perhaps He is using this time of quarantine to work on our hearts, our marriages, and our relationship with our Creator? Perhaps He is using our uncertainty and hardships, to bring us back into a deeper trust and obedience to our King? Perhaps He wants to eliminate our distractions and overfilled schedules to rest and sleep. Perhaps He is calling us to pause, so that he can begin to heal his children, his church, and his creation from being overworked? Perhaps...
One of the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 has been that our earth has already begun to produce cleaner water and cleaner air. With the lack of human activity, creation has already begun to heal. The question for us is have we slowed down, rested, and even slept for God to begin healing us too? Or have we let the fears, worries, and sheer amount of information overwhelm and debilitate us?
Yet, no matter how high the raging storms or thunderous quakes that exist around us, God quietly reminds us in Psalm 46:10...
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Being still is probably the most difficult posture to be in during this time. Many of us (including myself) are tempted to keep work even more, scroll through our feeds, or binge that new show. But what I strongly feel is God calling us to STOP. REST. And SLEEP.
Because even though we aren’t working, God is working in us and around us. He is sustaining creation, he is healing bodies and hearts, he is calling lost sheep back to him, and he working all things for good (Rom. 8:28). So that when the pandemic becomes a distant memory, He will be the only one receiving all glory, all honor, and all praise. Amen.
Noah is the Director of Impact and Strategy at Resource Global and an Associate Pastor at Park Community Church in Chicago.