Lent
March 12, 2019
Scripture Reading: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’ But he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’ He said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, –Genesis 15:7-12, 17-10
My Fitbit watch records my sleep patterns throughout the night. While I find the results interesting, I have yet to figure out what I am supposed to do to correct my sleep habits that fall outside the normal limits. The watch tracks the amount of time I am awake, in RIM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), light sleep, and deep sleep. I rarely meet the minimum amount of time most people are awake during the night and I almost always exceed the average time most people experience RIM Sleep. I am boring you with this because I was wondering what category of sleep Abram experienced and described as a deep and terrifying darkness. RIM sleep is most often related to dreams. The fire-pot and flaming torch scene sounds like a dream to me. It sounds like Abram had a tossing and turning night of dreams perhaps followed by healing deep sleep. Deep sleep is described as sleep where It’s harder to rouse you during this stage, and if someone woke you up, you would feel disoriented for a few minutes. [yet] During the deep stages of NREM sleep, the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system*.
While Abram probably felt a little disoriented after this event, God had strengthened him for the faith journey that awaited him.
Prayer: Lord, sometimes the challenges seem too much for us as we see the need before us but also understand what daunting tasks would be required to address them. Strengthen us for the work that awaits us in ushering in a world ruled by love. Amen.
*https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-101