Have you ever not been able to sleep? It's miserable. You lie awake in bed, watching the hours slide by, knowing that you're going to feel like a large piece of dirt in the morning. The next day you walk around in a semi-catatonic state, struggling to string together more than two coherent thoughts and guzzling coffee to keep from falling asleep at the keyboard. And things only get worse if you can't sleep the next night either.

The Bible talks about sleep. In Psalm 127:2 we read: " It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep." Sleep is a gift from a very kind God to undeserving sinners. Ponder for a moment the pleasures of sleep. How delightful it is to drift off into sleep after a hard day of work. How glorious it is to be refreshed and recharged after a full night of sleep. The health benefits of sleep are numerous and the dangers of neglecting sleep are many. Sleep also provides us with fresh perspective each morning. There are many times when I've gone to bed worried about a particular circumstance in my life. When I wake the next morning however, I find that my perspective has changed, and that what terrified me the night before no longer appears so ominous.

Friends, God is so kind to give us the gift of sleep. He bestows it upon us because He deeply loves us. Yet I often fall asleep without so much a word of thanks to the One who gives sleep. I slumber without a word of gratitude to the One who never slumbers. I want that to change. Will you seek to change with me? Before you fall asleep tonight, pause, and lift a prayer of thanks to God. Thank Him for the glorious gift of sleep, and then close your eyes for the glory of God.