The 21st Century Sabbath

Isaiah 58: 13-14
13 "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
14 then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Sisters, as you read this devotional today about the Sabbath I don't want you to read it as Old Testament law. A got-to, have-to, ought-to, boring, stare-at-the-walls day of doing nothing because you are supposed to observe the Sabbath.

More than ever, ladies, we need a day of rest. Have you ever considered that our bodies were not created or designed to work seven days a week? Why would God work six days and rest the seventh if He intended us to work seven? It's not that God couldn't work seven but He got the job done in six and rested on the seventh. Nothing in all of God's creation was unintentional, or accidental. There was a reason He created in six and rested on the seventh. He wasn't tired.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." Genesis 2:1-3

Our bodies physically need rest. Our brains need a break. Thus the Sabbath. It's not that difficult to do IF we set aside all those things we think we MUST do and IN FAITH honor one day a week as a day holy unto the Lord. I emphasize the part that it must be done IN FAITH. It will take faith to believe that somehow you will still get all those things done that are demanding your time. You may not be able to do it all at once, it may take a few months to whittle down all the things you have been doing on your day of rest. It may be Sunday, or yours may be Tuesday or Friday. It doesn't really matter. PICK ONE. What does a Sabbath look like in the 21st Century? How will you personalize your Sabbath? What can you do different than the other 6 days of the week to cultivate an atmosphere of rest for your body and soul? This is not about a law; it's about God's love and care for us because He knows how He created us.

Rest. Sister, Rest.

Diane

Diane Hunt is the Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries and Acting Director of Development at America's KESWICK. In addition to her Keswick responsibilities which keep her busy, she loves to read, write and teach, travel and laugh with her grandchildren. Diane has been married to her husband John over 25 years. She has 2 children, 2+ grandchildren, 3 step-children, and 7 step-grandchildren.

DIGGING DEEPER
Psalm 103:15,16
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.

Join us this week for Victory Week 3 with Dr. Glenn Blossom and Dr. Charles Zimmerman. If you can't attend, tune in online at http://www.americaskeswick.org/ at 9:30 and and 7:00 PM Monday through Thursday.