Paul exhorts: “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11) Medical science also provides a lot of insights about sleep. Rapid Eye Movement sleep is when the brain is active, while the body is inactive. This is normal sleep. Non – Rapid Eye Movement sleep is when the body is active, the brain is inactive. This is not good. One example is – sleep walking.
1) Death: Death is also equated to sleep. When Lazarus was dead, Lord Jesus said that he was asleep. (John 11:11)
2) Drowsiness: This is a lack of mental alertness. Or it could be described as a state of inactivity. Others may think the person is awake and alert, but he would be sleeping. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the three disciples were drowsy. (Matthew 26:38)
3) Trance: Peter went into trance, where he was physically sleeping but spiritually seeing God speaking to him through a dream. That changed his perception about the Gentiles. (Acts 10:10)
4) Deep sleep: Jonah after fleeing on a ship to Tarshish went into deep sleep. He was not bothered or disturbed by the commotion due to the storm, wind, waves and shrieking cry of the people. He was shaken out of sleep when he confessed his fleeing attempt from God’s plan. (Jonah 1:5) The servants of Saul had deep sleep forgetting to guard the king. (I Samuel 26:12)
5) Careless sleep: Samson slept in Delilah’s lap not knowing that he lost the presence of the Holy Spirit and his power. (Judges 16:19)
6) Negligent sleep: When Paul was preaching, Eutychus – a young man sat at the wrong place and slept and fell to death. (Acts 20: 7-12)
7) Sound sleep: God gives his beloved people sound sleep. (Psalms 127:2)
Are we sleeping by running away to do God’s will; or forsaking our responsibility; or drowsing in sinful attractions, or negligence? Let us wake up and have sound sleep only as His beloved.
Am I spiritually awake or asleep?