Sabbath Time
It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested. — Exodus 31:17 (NIV)
It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. — Exodus 31:17 (ESV)
In reading this piece of Scripture, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps God didn’t really need to rest, but he chose to. Then I wondered if he did this more as an example for us because he knew we would need times of rest. I’m sure God does many things that he never tells us about, so what’s the significance of him telling us this?
Somehow, if God were to say, “I don’t rest but you need to,” I don’t think it would have the same impact on us, especially since we, by nature, try to be our own gods or create gods out of our endeavors.
Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older, but I find I desperately need that day of rest, time to just unplug from the push and shove of the world. I even made steps to cut off the clamors for my attention on the weekends by turning off Twitter and staying away from my computer on Sundays. For me, this has been a great solution to reduce stress and recharge my battery for Monday.
I’m so grateful we have a God who teaches not only by his Word but by his actions, too. He could have kept that to himself, as I’m sure he keeps many things, but he chose to reveal it to our benefit.
So I’m learning to take those times of rest, on the weekend and sometimes for few minutes during my work day. Just to stair out the window by my desk and drink in a few moments of God’s creation.
How about you? What do your moments of rest look like?
Praying and believing,
Dineen
an example for us because he knew we would need times of rest.
Amen.
And, Dineen, right now you and I are indeed in need of that down time. Hugging you. Lynn
I enjoyed reading this and I’m glad we have God’s example to follow. I’ve made it a point not to do any specific house chores (like laundry) and to take the afternoon to do things that are restful to me.
Have a blessed weekend.
Bethany
When the day at work gets too crazy, I stop, step outside and pray 🙂
I try to stay away from my computer on Sundays, but lately is the only time I find to catch up with some friend’s blogs 🙂 …
Thank you for the reminder that we should rest at least one day a week.
Bless you sweetie.
I’m reading several books about the Sabbath, the last being Mudhouse Sabbath. Why is it, do you think, that we feel free to break the commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy? Look at the other commandments and you’d feel bad breaking them… Somehow, we feel going to church is keeping that commandment and He intended so much more for us. When I was in college, we had beautiful Sundays. As an adult, I could do so much better.
I hear ya, Chris. I have to be careful not to be legalistic about it too. The Bible says the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. We live in a world that works round the clock. Especially now with all the technology we have. It’s hard to get away from it. 🙂