Read the Psalm

“The Lord gives His beloved sleep.” Sleep … rest … peace. When we are stressed and anxious, sleep is often elusive. As we engage our belovedness and trust that we are secure in Him, it leads to peace and restfulness. If God is building the house and watching the city, even though we may have responsibilities, we know that He is the One holding it all … because we are His beloved.

Anxious toil is related to waking up early and going late to bed. If everything is dependent upon us, then we will likely work ourselves into sleeplessness. The reality is that the work is never done. Whether it is parenting, a career of some kind, or ministry opportunities, the work never comes to an end … if we are trying to hold it all together … if everything depends upon us. 

In Psalm 4:8, the psalmist proclaims: “in peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” When we know that we are safe – that we are the beloved of God – we rest, we sleep. Sleep has been shown to be one of the most important factors for a healthy life. It is no wonder that God gives sleep, or rest, to His beloved – to those who have embraced the reality that they are loved. “How am I sleeping?” may be one of the most important questions related to our life with God.

The spiritual practice of Sabbath is critical to living as the beloved. As God set down the basic structure of a God-oriented life for His people in Exodus 20, He invited them to embrace Sabbath:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8–11)

Of all the 10 commandments, more description is given to Sabbath than any other. It is not only essential to rest, but also not easy. Sabbath is counter cultural as well as counter intuitive. It is counter cultural in our world today and even more so in the ancient days when people often worked seven days a week, especially during the planting and harvesting seasons. With Sabbath, God is saying, “you are My people, and I love you. Take a day of rest and watch Me take care of you.” The rest of the world may be anxious and think they must keep the plates spinning, but God is inviting rest as a way to engage the reality that He is the One building the house. If He is going before us … if He is leading us, then resting for a day is a bold proclamation of this reality. 

We live in an age of anxiety in which people anxiously try to navigate life. When we think that we are on our own, we work and work and work. God invites Sabbath as a practice so that we will come to terms with His presence and love in our lives. If we stop work and striving for a day week, we are acknowledging His love and care. We are trusting that He can hold our lives. When our sowing (investment of our lives) is aligned with His heart, we can know that He cares more about our work that we do. He holds all things.  

It is common to experience a sense of tension when we rest. If we lean into the tension as an invitation to intimacy with God as His beloved, our tension melts into trust as we see week after week that He does indeed hold our lives. 

The final verses of this psalm seem to shift gears at first glance. With infant mortality rates in the ancient world perhaps as high as fifty percent, having children was not at all guaranteed. This prayer is a reminder the children are a gift from God. The word “heritage” could also be translated as “inheritance,” and the word “reward” speaks of gift as well. Even today, parents who struggle to have children can begin to wonder if they’ve done something wrong, but Psalm 127 is a beautiful reminder that children, family, and home are all gracious gifts from God, not based on what we do or don’t do. 

So, why is this part of the prayer of Psalm 127? To remind us that all is gift. And, we steward the gifts of this life (and our life itself) by sowing in what God is building, what He is doing. Otherwise, beautiful gifts like children and a family could become sources of anxiety. 

Christ slept in the stern of the boat during a storm and all around Him wondered if He cared what was going on. (Mark 4:35–41) In our world, anxiety seems to be a badge to show that we care. As we engage in rest, our anxiety is turned to trust because we know we are the beloved of God.

Reflection questions: do you see places in your life where you are anxious? What would it be like to rest, knowing that the Lord is holding your life? Take a moment to imagine this.

Prayer: Lord, today may I not eat the bread of an anxious toil, and whether awake or asleep, may I dwell in the safety and security of being seen and known as the beloved. Amen.