I Can Sleep When the Wind Blows

A young man applying for a job on a farm was asked what he knew how to do. He replied, “Sir, I know nothing about farm work, but I can sleep when the wind blows.”

The farmer did not understand, but as he was desperate for help, he employed the young man.

A few nights later a terrible storm blew in. The farmer was wakened and ran to the young man’s room.

There, just as he had said, he was sleeping through the storm. Rather than trying to awaken the youth, the farmer himself ran out to the barn to check the animals and equipment. He found the doors to the barn tightly shut. The animals were in their shelter, properly secured. Then he remembered the pile of straw the wind would be blowing in all directions, but he found it covered with canvas and tied down. Everything was secure.

On the way back to the house, he remembered what the young man had said: “I can sleep when the wind blows.” And he understood.

What about us? Can we have the confidence to live through life’s storms? Are we fulfilling all our obligations to God? Are our “chores” done? —Olden Cook

“I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” (2 Timothy 4:7–8)