Speaker 1: Welcome to Abides Sleep Meditations. I'm Tyler Boss. Today's meditation
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Speaker 2: and body as we hear tonight's sleep story.
Speaker 3: Hello and welcome to this sleep story from Abide. I'm Ben.
Speaker 3: Thanks for joining me for our story. Sweet is the
Speaker 3: sleep of a laborer. It's a privilege and a joy
Speaker 3: to have you join me in this peaceful sleep meditation
Speaker 3: design and to guide you into RESTful and rejuvenating sleep.
Speaker 3: In this story, we will be reflecting on the wisdom
Speaker 3: found in Ecclesiastes five, verse twelve, allowing the Word of
Speaker 3: God to calm our minds and spirits and fill us
Speaker 3: with His truth. As we meditate, we will consider a
Speaker 3: number of life giving scriptures and prayers to deepen our
Speaker 3: connection with the Lord and find true rest in His love.
Speaker 3: Ecclesiastes five twelve tells us the sweet sleep comes to
Speaker 3: those who work hard, regardless of how much or how
Speaker 3: little they've eaten, but the abundance of the rich keeps
Speaker 3: them awake at night. Let this verse remind us that
Speaker 3: true rest comes not from our worldly possessions or achievements,
Speaker 3: but from our trust in God's provision and our hard
Speaker 3: work that is rooted in His strength. This evening, we
Speaker 3: seek the sweet sleep of a laborer resting in the
Speaker 3: assurance of God's love and care. Sweet, unbroken and rejuvenating
Speaker 3: sleep is a true gift from God. He desires us
Speaker 3: to not be lazy, but to work hard and to
Speaker 3: enjoy the payment of sweet and peaceful sleep. There is
Speaker 3: great satisfaction knowing we have done our best and worked
Speaker 3: honestly for a day without resting on our laurels, and
Speaker 3: that God is very pleased with our diligence and patient endurance.
Speaker 3: Then deep sleep is truly a sweet delight. Let's begin
Speaker 3: our story. Close your eyes and imagine yourself traveling back
Speaker 3: in time several thousand years to ancient Israel. Picture a
Speaker 3: small tranquil village nestled in the rolling hills. The sun
Speaker 3: is beginning to set, casting a warm golden glow over
Speaker 3: the landscape. The sky is painted in vivid oranges and
Speaker 3: purples and pinks. It's as though a master watercolorist has
Speaker 3: smothered the heavenly canopy in his most pure pastel paints.
Speaker 3: His ballad is divinely blended. You look down again to
Speaker 3: the land below this incredible vista. There are expansive crops
Speaker 3: with stalks of grain wafting in the wind, and in
Speaker 3: the near distance there lies the small hamlet, surrounded by
Speaker 3: fields of grain to one side, and paddocks covered in
Speaker 3: pale green olive trees on the other. You notice a
Speaker 3: figure in the middle of the stalks of grain. Your
Speaker 3: eyes soon focus on a man, a weathered farmer, diligently
Speaker 3: working in his fields. His name is Nathaniel. He is
Speaker 3: a good man of strong character and unwavering faith, dedicated
Speaker 3: to his land and family and to his God. As
Speaker 3: you watch him, you closely observe the meticulous care and
Speaker 3: effort he puts into his work. His hands are rough
Speaker 3: and callous from years of honest labor, yet his movements
Speaker 3: are purposeful and steady. You can see that Nathaniel is
Speaker 3: harvesting wheat, the staple crop that will sustain his family
Speaker 3: through the year, both the times of plenty and especially
Speaker 3: the times of lack. He uses sickle and scythe to
Speaker 3: cut each stock with precision and gathers them into fat bundles.
Speaker 3: The golden grains glisten in the fading sunlight, a testament
Speaker 3: to both his hard work and God's bountiful provision. The
Speaker 3: air is filled with the earthy scent of soil and
Speaker 3: the sweet aroma of ripe wheat. Birds sing their plaintive
Speaker 3: evening songs, and a gentle breeze rustles through the tall
Speaker 3: stalks of wheat. This is a scene of harmony between man, nature,
Speaker 3: and the Creator. As the day progresses, Nathaniel continues his labor,
Speaker 3: moving with a rhythm that speaks of years of experience
Speaker 3: and patient endurance. His body, though tired, is sustained by
Speaker 3: his faith in God and the knowledge that his work
Speaker 3: is blessed by the Creator. As you continue to observe,
Speaker 3: you remember the passage in Proverbs twelve eleven that says
Speaker 3: those who work their land will have abundant food, but
Speaker 3: those who chase fantasies have no sense. Nathaniel embodies this wisdom,
Speaker 3: knowing that diligent work leads to a fruitful harvest. He
Speaker 3: pauses occasionally to wipe the sweat from his brow and
Speaker 3: to drink from a clay jug filled with cool water.
Speaker 3: Each sip refreshes him, giving him the strength to continue.
Speaker 3: Though you are watching from a short distance away, you
Speaker 3: can hear his resonant baritone voice singing a melody to
Speaker 3: the words from Psalm one hundred and twenty eight, verse two.
Speaker 3: You will eat the fruit of your labor. Blessings and
Speaker 3: prosperity will be yours. As the sun dips below the horizon,
Speaker 3: Nathaniel finishes his day's work. He gathers his tools and
Speaker 3: heads towards home, a small stone house with a thatched roof.
Speaker 3: The smell of a hearty stew wafts through the air,
Speaker 3: welcoming him back. Nathaniel's kindly looking wife and several healthy
Speaker 3: children greet him warmly at the door with hugs and smiles.
Speaker 3: They help him pull off his dirty boots and remove
Speaker 3: his sweaty garments. They look so cheerful and apparently care
Speaker 3: free in this moment. They also help him wash his
Speaker 3: hands and clean the dirt off his face with a
Speaker 3: cloth presently, once he is full clean and wearing a
Speaker 3: fresh linen tunic, they gather around the table, which is
Speaker 3: laid out with steaming loaves of wheaten bread right out
Speaker 3: at the oven. You can even smell the glorious aroma
Speaker 3: of baked bread from where you sit outside. The family
Speaker 3: inside holds one another's hands, and Nathaniel leads them in
Speaker 3: a prayer of thanks to Yahweh for the meal and
Speaker 3: the day's blessings. You also bow your head and join
Speaker 3: in silent ascent as he prays. You continue to watch
Speaker 3: as the family talks and laughs around the table and
Speaker 3: shares the highs and lows of the day, the situations
Speaker 3: where they enjoyed victories from their hard work and the
Speaker 3: times where they suffered disappointments. You can see they receive
Speaker 3: so much solace and peace and encouragement from one another
Speaker 3: as they share. You remember a phrase you once heard.
Speaker 3: A burden shared is a burden halved. Joy shared is
Speaker 3: joy doubled. You can see the burdens amongst Nathaniel and
Speaker 3: his wife and children being halved and their joys being multiplied.
Speaker 3: As the day grows darker and the nighttime softly descends.
Speaker 3: The little family lights their candles, even though the gentle
Speaker 3: orange glow of the flames atop their menora illuminates their home.
Speaker 3: The night became too dim to see through the narrow
Speaker 3: window opening. You imagine that even now, with a weary
Speaker 3: body but a heart full of gratitude, Nathaniel prepares for bed.
Speaker 3: He lies down on a simple straw mattress, feeling the
Speaker 3: day's fatigue seep from his body. The cool night air
Speaker 3: drifts in through the open window, carrying the sounds of
Speaker 3: crickets and the gentle rustling of leaves in the evening breeze.
Speaker 3: As he closes his eyes, Nathaniel reflects on the goodness
Speaker 3: of God. He knows that his hard work is not
Speaker 3: in vain, and that his rest is a gift from
Speaker 3: the Creator. He remembers Psalm one hundred and twenty seven,
Speaker 3: verse two. In vain, you rise early and stay up late,
Speaker 3: toiling for food to eat. For he grants sleep to
Speaker 3: those he loves. Nathaniel's breathing becomes slow and steady. He
Speaker 3: feels the weight of the day lifting, replaced by a
Speaker 3: deep sense of peace. His muscles relax, and his mind quiets,
Speaker 3: he surrenders to the sweet restorative sleep that comes from
Speaker 3: a day well spent in diligent labor and trust in
Speaker 3: God's provision. You know that now it is your time
Speaker 3: to retire to your lodgings to enjoy your own sweet sleep.
Speaker 3: Though you may not have been toiling in the wheat
Speaker 3: fields from dawn till dusk, like Nathaniel, you have been
Speaker 3: laboring in your own duties and tasks. Even when you
Speaker 3: have labored in prayer today and have offered up a
Speaker 3: sacrifice of praise, it has been costly. You know God
Speaker 3: sees your heart where you have been patient in an
Speaker 3: endurance and diligent in your work. May the sweet sleep
Speaker 3: of a laborer be yours, and may you wake up
Speaker 3: refreshed and renewed, ready to face a new day with
Speaker 3: the assurance of God's power to strengthen the works of
Speaker 3: your hands and the blessings of His presence, Goodness, love,
Speaker 3: and provision, Loving Lord Jesus. As this beloved child of
Speaker 3: Yours continues to sink into sleep, may they feel their
Speaker 3: body becoming heavier and more relaxed, as if they too
Speaker 3: had spent a day in fruitful labor and are now
Speaker 3: ready for sweet rest. May they embrace this feeling of
Speaker 3: peace and allow it to carry them into a night
Speaker 3: of deep, RESTful sleep. Help them to remember that you
Speaker 3: are in control. Let them find comfort in your presence
Speaker 3: and trust in your provision. In your Holy name, Amen,
Speaker 3: Sweet dreams, dearly loved child of God. The s