DEVOTION//Sleep When the Wind Blows

An unknown author wrote about a farmer who owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

Sleeping when the wind blows

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.

"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No, sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.

The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

Asleep in grace

Like that farmer, Christians can sleep while the wind blows. We can nestle down beneath the warm comforter of our God's love and power, no matter how severe the storms are that rage in our lives.

Our Father has promised "he will rescue you from the fowler’s trap, from the destructive plague. With his feathers he will cover you, and under his wings you will find refuge. His truth will be your shield and armor. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that prowls in the darkness, nor the pestilence that destroys at noon" (Psalm 91:4-6).

But unlike the hired hand in this story, our God never sleeps. He is always standing guard, always prepared to help us. "He who watches over you will not slumber. Yes, he who watches over Israel will not slumber. He will not sleep. The Lord watches over you" (Psalm 121:3-5).

No wonder, since the days of David, God's people have said, "Many are rising up against me!...  But you, O Lord, are a shield for me…. I lie down, and I sleep. I awake, because the Lord sustains me." (Psalm 3:1,3,5).

The grace that Jesus won for us guarantees we can sleep while the wind blows.