Sleep. “Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up. Healthy sleep also helps the body remain healthy and stave off diseases. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly.”¹

While sleep is an essential function, it can also be an escape from reality.

⁴But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. ⁵Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.

Jonah 1:4-5

Jonah, commissioned to take God’s word to the city of Ninevah, ran the other way instead. Avoiding God’s call is exhausting, so Jonah slipped into his bunk in the bottom of the boat and fell asleep. Like Jesus, he slept through the storm. Not because he was at peace within himself, but because he was avoiding his calling.

Ministry depletes a person’s resources and requires a nap to recharge. Running from ministry depletes a person as well, causing one to sleep to avoid responsibility.

Where are you today? Are you running from God’s call on your life because it seems too difficult? Does sleep overtake you, preventing you from saying yes to Jesus’ invitation to partner with him?