NAPPERS!

        Photo by David Clode on Unsplash                   

And who is the champion napper?  You guessed it.  The Koala Bear.  It sleeps 18-22 hours a day!  All this rest is necessary due to the koala’s diet of eucalyptus leaves. This plant takes a while to digest and provides little energy output.  And all you cat lovers know full well that house cats sleep 18 hours a day.  They are always sleeping!  

Those of you who love an afternoon nap are in good company.  JFK, Ronald Reagan, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George Bush all took naps!

They say napping reboots your brain!  It relaxes you, reduces fatigue, increases alertness and creative insight, improves your mood, improves performance, increases reaction time, gives you a better memory, and helps you have fewer accidents and make less mistakes.                                                                                                         

A NASA study on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness by 100%.    

It also applies to sleepy drivers.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said drowsy drivers are involved in hundreds of thousands of car crashes in the United States each year.  If you are driving while drowsy, they recommend drinking caffeine and pulling your car over in a safe place for a 20-minute nap.    

According to the University of California-Berkeley, the best time to nap is eight hours after waking and eight hours before nighttime sleep.  For example, if you wake at 6 a.m. and go to bed and 10 p.m., then 2:00 p.m. would be an ideal time to nap.

And listen to this!  Dr. James B. Mass, a psychologist, notes that “Napping should NOT be frowned upon at the office or make you feel guilty when at home.  It should have the status of daily exercise.”  As important as daily exercise?  That’s what he said!

Jesus thought so.  He and His disciples were on the shore of a lake.  ‘When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to His diciples to cross to the other side.’  They used one of the disciple’s boats.  Jesus got in the boat and took a nap and napped on, right through the middle of a ‘furious storm’ while ‘the waves swept over the boat!’  That certainly puts His stamp of approval on napping!!!  Needless to say, the disciples who were with Him in the boat were very concerned!  They woke Him, saying “Lord save us!  We’re going to drown!”  He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”  Then he got up from His nap (all reinvigorated) and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.’ Matthew 8:18, 23-27.

How could Jesus nap in a storm?  HE KNEW WHO HE WAS!!!

Do you know who you are?  If you know that you are a child of God and know His promises to you, then you too can nap through any ‘storm of life’ that comes your way!   

Jesus died on the cross so that you can have peace regardless of the storms.

‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.’
Isaiah 53:5. 

When He appeared before His disciples after His resurrection, He promised them that He would leave His peace with them!  He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. 
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27. 

Jesus said, ‘my peace I give you’.  The same peace He had in the storm!  Do you believe it?  

Then NAP ON!