PSALM 127:2
On January 8th 1964 Randy Gardner (born 1946), an American from San Diego, California, set the record for the longest amount of time a human has gone without sleep. Seventeen-year-old Gardner stayed awake for 11 days and 25 minutes (264.4 hours), breaking the previous record of 260 hours held by Tom Rounds. Decades later, Gardner suffered from severe bouts of insomnia. He set the record but also confirmed the obvious: sleep is essential.
According to news reports, Gardner’s record has been broken a number of times. Gardner’s case still stands out, however, because it has been so extensively documented. Records for voluntary sleep deprivation are no longer kept by Guinness World Records for fear that participants will suffer ill effects.
The Psalmist in 127:1-2 states that the planning and activities of men are pointless without the involvement of the Lord. Our labours are in vain if we think we are the ultimate determiners of what happens in our lives. One way the Lord gets involved in our activities is by giving us sleep.
Many of us struggle to get a decent night’s rest. Unlike Gardner who deprived himself intentionally, we might suffer sleeplessness for a number of reasons. Sometimes it is hard for us to turn off the anxiety and relax.
Our toiling and our relentless efforts are useless unless God provides what we need. Thankfully, God does provide what we need. He gives sleep to those He loves (Psalm 127:2). And God’s love extends to all of us. He invites us to release our anxieties to Him and sink into His rest, into His grace.
