Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

When the struggles of life become greater than our expectations, we begin to wonder if God has forgotten us. We cry out to God in our distress, but he seems so far away. We cry louder and longer, but there’s no response from God. He must be asleep! This is what the Psalmist felt. 

Now, is this even possible? I thought God “will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). This was God’s promise to the Israelites, showing how he will diligently care for his people. 

    The Bible is clear, that God doesn’t sleep. God is Spirit and dwells outside the physical realm and does not need physical rest as we do. Only those who have bodies need rest. When God came down and dwelt among us as a human, he needed rest. But God as the divine being doesn’t sleep, nor does he need rest. 

    Yet when God doesn’t respond or when he doesn’t act according to our timeframe, we wonder if he is asleep; we wonder if he cares. Otherwise, he would have responded when we first cried out to him. 

The psalmist said:

“Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! (Psa 44:22-26)

    God views our life from an entirely different timeframe. We see our lives from our day-to-day experiences. All we see is turmoil and agony. But God sees a broader timeframe and has no fear of the daily fluctuations. He is confident he can bring us through victoriously. He has already seen our lives from beginning to end. 

    As we struggle with our limited perspectives, let’s hold on to God. He has promised to bring us through victoriously. He has the broader timeframe of our entire lives and he is faithful to accomplish all that he promised. 

– – –➤

* Join the conversation and share your thoughts in the comments on yourBarnabas.com and share this post with others.