The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 1300, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.

Question

What is a balanced Christian life with regard to sleep?

Answer

Now, sleep is a good thing and from time to time, it’s necessary. In Acts 20:9--I want you to know that this is a great illustration of the fact that you cannot avoid sleep; you must get your rest. “And there sat in a window a certain young man”--Now, wait a minute! “Named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep…” The reason you want to get your sleep is not because you might die--because you might miss the sermon! See, that’s what this passage is saying. I think there’s some incredulity in your laughter.

All right. So, “Eutychus being fallen into a deep sleep and as Paul was long preaching”--bless his heart--“he sank down with sleep, feel out of the third loft and was taken up dead.” To prove my point, Paul simply went down, resurrected him and immediately brought him back up so he could hear the rest of the sermon. I would hastily add, really people, you’ll never be able to profit by Bible study if you aren’t awake! It’s good to get rest so that when you have the time to study, your mind is alert.

Now, I’m going to tell you a few other things about sleep; I’ll give you a little sleepy theology here. Back in Psalm 127, there’s some interesting things about it. You know, it never says in the Bible, “Go to sleep,” it only says, “Get up”? Did you know that? God knows you’re going to go to sleep sooner or later. It doesn’t say anywhere in the Bible, “Get eight hours.” It doesn’t say anywhere in the Bible that you want to make sure that you fully get your rest no matter what doesn’t get done. But I’ll tell you some interesting things about sleep.

You know what it says? Don’t lose sleep over worry. Psalm 127: “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.” Listen; it doesn’t do any good to wake up worrying about whether your house is going to burn down. It doesn’t do any good to wake up worrying about whether your business is going to fall apart. It doesn’t do any good to wake up with any of that stuff because if the Lord isn’t the one taking care of your house and the Lord isn’t the one taking care of your job and your business, being awake isn’t going to help anything! It’s like the guy who was--in the story of the second World War--who was captured by the Germans and thrown in the hold of a great big ship and he spent the whole night wide awake. Finally, he said, “This is ridiculous! The Bible says that God never slumbers or sleeps; there’s no sense both of us staying up and worrying about this.”

So, “except the Lord build a house, you labor anyway in building it. It is vain for you to rise up early and sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows.” He gives his beloved sleep. Will you just go to sleep? Don’t stay up late/get up early worrying! Whatever it is that you’re worried about, unless the Lord is in it, your worry isn’t going to do any good anyway.

And you know what most people worry about I think? Most parents… Verse 3: “Lo,” what? “Children.” A lot of parents worry about their children. But listen, they are an heritage from whom? From the Lord. Listen; He gave them, He’s going to take care of them. Mom, don’t lose any sleep over them! Go to sleep; don’t worry. Now that’s a good thing: don’t stay up to worry.

Let me tell you something else: don’t go to sleep when you ought to work--Psalm 132. People say sometimes to me, “Oh, John, you look tired.” Well, I’m almost always tired, and that’s the best way to be because I keep saying to myself, “If I’m tired, I must be doing something,” and that’s very satisfying.

Now, Psalm 132:1: “Lord, remember David in all his afflictions.” David--he’s got a lot of problems. “He swore to the Lord and vowed to the mighty God of Jacob, surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house nor go up to my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes nor slumber to my eyelids until I found out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.” He says, “I’m not going to bed until I get God’s business done.”

Now, I believe that in my own life. If I need to stay up late to do that, if I need to get up early to do that--I can remember back in seminary days, if I got two, three, four hours sleep a night, that was great! Because I had to be studying and preparing. But if I’ve got the Lord’s work to do, I don’t say, “Sorry, Lord; I need my eight hours. You know what doctor so-and-so says… Forget it!” I’d rather be doing what God wants me to do than the doctor.

And I’ll tell you something; there’s some other things about sleep that are practical, and I’m going to skip a few, but look at Proverbs 3:24. This is good. Oh, this is good. Verse 21: “My son, let not them depart from your eyes, but keep sound wisdom.” Hey, let me ask you a question: where do you find sound wisdom? Tell me where you find it. In the Bible. All right, study the Bible, verse 21 says. Terrific! “Study the Bible,” verse 23, “Then you will walk in the way safely and your foot won’t stumble.” You’ll be able to make it through the world without falling if you study the Bible. And I’ll tell you something else--I love this--verse 24, “When you lie down, you won’t be afraid. You shall lie down and sleep will be,” what? “Sweet.” You want to sleep sweet? Study the Bible. You got insomnia? Open the Bible and it’ll put you right to sleep; no I don’t want to say that! You know what it’ll do? It’ll make your sleep sweet. Your mind will think of good things, see. Your sleep will be sweet. Study the Word of God: you won’t have any fears. It's a great thing.

I’ll tell you another way to sleep well, sleep sweet. Ecclesiastes 5:12. You know the people who sleep the best? The people who are tired. Do you know how to get tired? Work. Ecclesiastes 5:12--oh, this is good--“The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much.” Some of you say, “Oh, I can’t go to bed on a full stomach.” If you’re tired, dog-tired, you could go to bed lying on the plate! Well, I’ll tell you something; look at verse 12 again: “But the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.” You know why? He’s got so much going on with all of his servants that he never does anything so he can’t sleep.

That’s pretty practical stuff. You say, “Boy, I have trouble sleeping and I work hard.” Well, there’s one other answer (I’m going to get off this or we’ll be here all night). Proverbs 4:16. It’s talking about evil people; he says, “They don’t sleep, except they have done mischief”--they don’t go to bed until they’ve done evil--“and then when they go to bed, their sleep is taken away.” You know what keeps you awake a lot? Sin.

Now what’s the main idea of all of this? The main idea in Scripture is this regarding sleep: don’t overdo it. Is that interesting? There’s nothing in the Bible about “get sleep.” You’re going to get it, folks, when you need it; you’ll fall in there and get it. Look at Proverbs 6; here’s the way the Bible looks at it. Verse 6: “Go to the ant, thou sluggard”--you know what a sluggard is? A guy that doesn’t get out of bed--that’s a sluggard. “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise, which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.” He works. Look at an ant. Have you ever seen an ant sleeping? Work. Always moving.

“How long will you sleep, O sluggard?” That’s what to say to your husband at 11 o’clock, Saturday morning. “How long will you sleep, O sluggard?” See? “When will you arise out of your sleep?” And his answer, “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands… Just a little longer.” And then the reply, “So shall your poverty come like one that traveleth fast and thy want, like an armed man.” You want to be poor? Sleep all the time.

Well, the Bible doesn’t tell you to go to sleep; it just tells you to get up. It assumes you’ll go to sleep when you’re tired. If you have trouble with it, maybe it’s because of sin, maybe you need to spend time studying the Word of God so your sleep will be sweet. “Love not sleep,” Proverbs 20:13 says, “lest you come to poverty. Open your eyes and you’ll be satisfied with bread.” Get up and go to work--that’s the idea.

Well, that’s pretty practical and I hope that helps. Those are the general patterns. How you balance those out in your life will be between you and the Lord.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
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