The blessings of rest
"'...You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work…For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.'" (Exodus 20:8-11, NLT)
Oh, how I struggle with this commandment! Anyone who knows me knows that for many years, I felt like my life was a series of constant "all-nighters." And the irony of it all is that people even admire you for working incessantly: "Wow, Déborah, I wish I were as strong as you!" How many times have I heard that phrase?
But now that I'm older (I just wanted to say that phrase once! 😉), I realize that this lifestyle doesn't make sense. Do you know that God wasn't just joking when He said that rest is important? And He didn't give us this commandment to spoil our fun either. Quite the opposite! He wants to fill our lives with good things (see Psalms 103:5, NLT)—even bring fun, joy, and TIME into our lives!
Oh, I can already hear the fear speaking up: "Is this really a commandment…to rest?" Yes, indeed, friend! It's one of the Ten Commandments! And it's probably the only one we don't want to take very seriously. "'You shall not murder.'" (Exodus 20:13, NKJV) or "'You shall not steal.'" (Exodus 20:15, NKJV) are definitely much easier in general for us to heed…
God tells us that He "'...blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy'" (Exodus 20:11, NLT) because He also rested on the seventh day. "Holy" means "separate, set apart, of great moral value and therefore inviolable or unquestionable."
If you are struggling with this commandment (or this whole series), I encourage you to ask God how to best honor Him with the Sabbath. Ask Him what it means that He Himself is your rest (see Colossians 2:16-17 and Hebrews 4:1-13) and how to please His heart. For me, honoring Him means taking a whole day off each week. :-)
friend, be blessed as you set aside time to rest in God's presence. He will work for you as you rest in Him!
You are a miracle!
