He Sleeps is Storms

In Have a Little Faith, author Mitch Albom relates a story his rabbi once told.

A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer. It reads simply, “He sleeps in a storm.”

The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man.

Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the midst of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley.

Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly.

So, he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed.

He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and are wrapped with tarpaulins.

He races to the silo. The doors are latched and the grain is dry.

And then he understands. “He sleeps in a storm.”

We need to understand what the farmer did. We need to know what the disciples learned. And we need to do what Jesus did.

But what did he do? What allows someone to sleep through a storm?

Before the hired hand slept he did everything necessary to prepare. And then he trusted the outcome to someone else. That what Jesus did. He worked. Then he rested. So should we.

Instead of panic, we need peace. Peace that comes from doing all we can, all we should, and then trusting God to do what we can’t—which is prevent storms.

We can’t stop them. They come to everyone’s life. Sooner or later, suddenly a terrible storm will rise. You won’t see it until it’s too late. So prepare now for the inevitable. Protect your family. Shelter your assets. Provide for the future. If you do, you’ll learn what the disciples did.

The storm will cease.

There is nothing to fear.

We can be calm.

He sleeps in storms.

A Fresh Start

It's not easy to rest. Many of us fill our plates with more activity than we can accomplish well. And too often our cups overflow because we keep pouring more and more into them. Our TO DO lists seem to never quite get completed. And so we carry over from one day to the next what we didn't get done the day before.

Consequently, we tend to carry an ever-increasing load of projects and responsibilities. Worse still, we continue to add to our burdens with ever-decreasing hopes of achieving our goals. Sooner or later, much of our time is consumed with juggling what is urgent, while we drop what is essential and vital.

If we're going to manage our lives, our time, and our energy effectively, we must do two things:

1. Eliminate what is insignificant.

2. Elevate what is important.

That may not be new to some people, but many of us need to be reminded of those truths. We need to remember that we must maintain our balance. We do that by setting boundaries, sticking to our priorities, and resting before we are exhausted.

When we make rest a priority, we'll have the energy we need to accomplish what God wants us to do, rather than struggling to do what we think we must do. And we'll have the strength to say no when we are tempted to say yes and add one more item to our too-busy schedules. That will give us a fresh start—every day.