Genesis 1 “…And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
A few weeks ago Rachel, our family life pastor, shared a book entitled Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. I got a copy for myself and was immediately drawn in by Rev. Warren’s keen observations and insights about the richness of an ordinary day.
One of her observations (really an ancient understanding) is that if you read Genesis carefully you will see that God measures days differently then you and I measure them. God assembled the world by resting and preparing and then doing the work of creating. First rest and then work. Notice the order of the words: “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
I like to reverse God’s order and charge into the day by tossing a prayer toward God in the morning and asking Him to help me do what I have planned. In fact, I like to squeeze as much sleep and rest out of my day as possible and insert as much productivity as possible. We know that humans who go without REM (dream) sleep have a harder time remembering and learning new information. We know that rest and relaxation is important because it is when the body heals itself. AND YET most Americans are sleep deprived. AND YET we Americans pride ourselves in working to the point of exhaustion. It is a badge of adulthood in many respects to be tired. We come by this naturally by the way. Most parents have had to teach our infants how to sleep – it is human nature to stay awake, even if it is bad for us in the long run. Rev. Warren thinks that we adults resist sleep because we hate limits. We don’t want to think there is an end to our energy and productivity. AND YET there is that picture of God resting and preparing before he created. I wonder which is the better way to function?
You get the picture – in God’s clock our day starts in the evening. Our day starts with rest. The Jewish sabbath starts at sundown, not after stuffing the kids in the car on the way to worship. I’m also reminded that many of God’s Old Testament miracles of deliverance happened in the evening or during the night. God was working and preparing while his people rested. Phones, entertainment and shopping 24/7 may not be what is best for us in the long run.
So, what would your day look like if you started it in the evening? What would you look like if you embraced rest? I recently, even before reading Rev. Warren’s book, challenged myself to see the evening as a time of growing close to God, without distractions. I’ve taken the following steps: Limit TV viewing; reading more good books; spending more time talking to Debbie or playing games (read, getting beat at Scrabble) or working on a puzzle; not working past 10PM (which was my old life) and inviting God into my evening by consciously praying and journaling. If I fall asleep while doing either I’m pretty sure God would approve. After all, He invented rest.
I’ve also come to appreciate that when I fall asleep into God’s provision I am allowing myself to communicate with Him at some basic molecular level as he heals my body and renews my mind. If you want a good example of God pursuing someone into sleep read the conversion story of Anne Lamott* in Messy Spirituality.
If you can’t trust God at any other time trust Him to protect you, to care for you and recharge your body in the night – as you give yourself over entirely to his love and protection You are never more vulnerable than when you are drooling into your pillow, but you are also never more reliant on God’s provision and protection.. David points out in Ps 127:1-2 “Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 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.”
After a night of being recharged by God I have my “devotions” when I speak to God about my rest and how he has prepared me for the new day. Rather than start the day by saying: “God join me in my work” try saying: “God has already prepared me for today’s journey.” Isn’t that more restful? Relaxing?
What I recommend for you is this:
- Consider evening the start of your day.
- Consider your evening activities to be a restful gift.
- Follow the advice you gave your kids: a regular bedtime, warm bath, good book, dim lights, rocking and cuddling to reset the brain.
- If you are feeling restless look at your recent sleep patterns. My disordered sleep reveals a disordered love, idols of entertainment (think Facebook or some other social media) or productivity.
- If you lie awake worrying what does it say about who you are or what you trust.
- Rest in God’s provision for the day
- Make yourself vulnerable to God’s care
- Begin your day by accomplishing nothing at all. That is how God did it!
My final piece of advice. Put down this essay and take a nap. You will thank me for it later.
In Christ,
Phil
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P.S. — A couple of my favorite Anne Lamott quotes are:
- “almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
- “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
