Video 1A: Welcome to Sleep in Peace

Hi, I am Haley Steiner, a CLI presenter.

This course is taught by Rev. Henry Reyenga, Founder of Christian Leaders Institute, and Attorney/Pastor Brian DeCook.

Welcome to Sleep in Peace: A Christian Growth Course for Better Sleep.

You may be here because falling asleep has become difficult. Perhaps you awaken during the night, carry tomorrow’s worries into bed, replay conversations, or feel frustrated with your body. You may be tired of trying new techniques. You may even wonder whether your struggle means that something is wrong with you spiritually.

This course begins with a different message:

You are an organic human created by God.

You are not a sleep machine.

You are an embodied soul with spiritual and physical life before God. Your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, relationships, brain, nervous system, hormones, surroundings, health, and daily rhythms all enter the night with you.

The central conviction of this course is simple:

Sleep is received, not forced.

You can prepare for sleep. You can support your body. You can reduce unnecessary stimulation. You can release unfinished concerns to God. You can seek treatment when something may be medically wrong.

But you cannot directly command the moment when wakefulness gives way to sleep.

Trying to force sleep can turn the night into a performance:

“I must sleep now.”

“Tomorrow will be ruined.”

“I am failing again.”

“A faithful Christian should be able to overcome this.”

Those sentences may increase fear, frustration, bodily tension, and watchfulness. The harder you work at sleeping, the more awake you may feel.

God created human beings for rhythms of activity and rest. We are limited creatures, not self-sustaining gods. Sleep reminds us that the world continues without our supervision. God remains God while we rest.

The fall into sin has disrupted the whole creation. Sleep may be affected by fear, bitterness, guilt, grief, trauma, pain, illness, hormones, breathing problems, work schedules, caregiving, noise, poverty, conflict, or unsafe surroundings.

Not every sleep problem is caused by personal sin, weak faith, or poor habits.

Jesus Christ meets burdened people with grace. He brings forgiveness without pretending that wrongdoing is harmless, boundaries without hatred, conviction without condemnation, and hope without promising that every difficult night will immediately disappear.

The Holy Spirit is not a sleep technique. Fellowship with the Spirit means that God is present whether you fall asleep quickly, awaken repeatedly, or remain quietly awake for a time.

Sleep research also cautions us against making one number a moral command. Healthy sleep involves duration, quality, timing, regularity, daytime functioning, and the absence or proper treatment of sleep disorders. Healthy adults are generally encouraged to sleep seven or more hours regularly, but individual needs and circumstances vary. (PubMed Central (PMC))es Christian education and general sleep support. It does not diagnose insomnia, sleep apnea, trauma, depression, or another condition. It does not replace a physician, sleep specialist, licensed counselor, or qualified cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia provider.

You are not taking a test tonight.

You are learning to prepare wisely, release control, receive your creaturely limits, welcome Scripture and the Holy Spirit, seek help without shame, and wake in hope.

Welcome to Sleep in Peace.