Sleep is a blessing. After a hard day's work,
sleep is a much-welcomed event. Sometimes, though, sleep is unwanted.
At times, we find ourselves fighting slumber at the most inconvenient
times. Some people fight sleep while driving, some while watching
a movie, others while trying to listen to or take part in a lackluster
conversation. Yes, even when listening to sermons.
I wonder though how many members of the church
ever resist falling asleep while reading God's Word resisting
it because they have spent hours in arduous study and would like
very much to keep on studying. Honestly, how many Christians daily
wear out their eyes searching the Scriptures?
Perhaps it is this blessed activity that David
referred to when he penned these words, "Mine eyes fail
for thy word" (Psalm 119:82). Maybe, after toiling in
the Scriptures for an extended period, he too began to ward off
sleep. His inspired expression, "Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Psalm
119:18), may have a secondary meaning as it pertains to our discussion.
Maybe he wanted spiritual discernment as well as mental alertness.
His son Solomon affirmed, "... much study is a weariness
of the flesh" (Ecclesiastes 12:12).
It is widely known that brother Gus Nichols studied
the Bible five hours every day. I was recently informed that in
the wee hours of the morning, as his eyes became heavy, he would
keep his eyes pried open with his thumb and index finger. Evidently,
the five hours a day he spent in study was the minimum, because
he was known to stay up all night on many occasions examining
God's Word. Upon learning that brother Nichols studied five hours
a day, brother Franklin Camp said, "If brother Nichols needs
to study the Bible five hours a day, then I need to study it six."
For many years brother Camp got up at 4:00 AM and studied uninterrupted
until 10:00 AM. Unquestionably, both of these men had heavy eyes
more than once, yet their desire for knowledge bore down on them
heavier than their eyelids. Let us follow their examples.
"Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that
I might meditate in thy word." Psalm 119:148. 102 Laramie
Rd., Marietta, OH 45750. jdconley@localnet.com