How to Handle Sleep Disturbances with Faith and Joy: A Spiritual Perspective

Whether you sleep peacefully and quietly, or with disturbance and restlessness, it is all Divine Providence. 

Perhaps the neighbors are making noise, a worker is drilling outside your window, a family member is speaking loudly or children are playing with their toys. You may have insomnia, which makes it difficult to fall asleep without a sleeping pill, and even that doesn’t always help. There are also those who, once awakened from their sleep, cannot fall back asleep, tossing and turning in bed until morning, resulting in fatigue and a chaotic day due to lack of rest.

All of these are by Divine Providence. A person is judged on how much they will sleep and whether their sleep will be calm or troubled.

At such a time, a person must restrain from anger, lift their eyes heavenward tell God "I accept this suffering with complete faith, knowing that this disturbance is Your will for my benefit and for the atonement of my transgressions.”

A person who suppresses their anger in moments of frustration and understands that everything is Divine Providence, is a truly lucky person.

Joy is the Key to Sweetening Judgments

Joy is the essential tool to sweeten harsh decrees. It is well known from the holy teachings that when a person falls into bitterness and lacks joy, judgments begin to hover over them, Heaven forbid. Man is a microcosm, containing all worlds, and what occurs above is immediately felt below. Likewise, an action performed below stirs its corresponding influence above. Therefore, during a time of pending harsh judgments, it is vital to immediately strengthen oneself with great joy and push away the bitterness, for this transforms the bitter into sweet.

Once the bitterness is turned into joy, the decrees are nullified. The ultimate purpose is always to transform the bitter into sweet, and in this way, the disturbance is nullified at its root, and the harsh judgments are reversed for the good. (Shomer Emunim)