Life in the fast paced world in which we find ourselves does get very challenging and for the most part, leaves us feeling like we are trying to play “catch up” every time. I don’t know about you but that is definitely frustrating for me. I like to feel like I am on top of things and not barely managing to keep up with everything in my life. So I ask myself many times if this is how God intended for life to be lived. And just like you would suggest, this is not how He meant for it to be. It is possible to be on top of things and not feel overwhelmed and caught up in the rush of life all the time.
When God created the world, He rested on the seventh day and consecrated it as holy. Later in giving the ten commandments, He made keeping the Sabbath Holy commandment number four. His intention for them back then is still the same for us today – that we work for six days and REST on the seventh day. God means total rest from the work that we do on week days and for the children of Israel He warned that no one was to go out to gather manna on the seventh day. Of course we read about a few who still went our to get food on the seventh day. I wonder what went through their minds as they went out despite the command of the Lord.
It is easy for us to think that this command was for the Israelites in the Bible days but it is still very relevant for us today if we are to bring glory to God and be productive in all that He has called us to do. I know how easy it is to justify the fact that the observance of the sabbath is not practical in today’s twenty first century world because of all the things that we have to deal with today because I have been there. But truth be told, we disobey God when we fail to observe the sabbath. And by the sabbath here I am not referring to any particular day of the week. My emphasis is not so much on the day as it is on the necessity of observing the sabbath.
So why is it important to keep the sabbath? I will advance five reasons here although I know there are probably many more reasons.
1. Because God commands us to. It is not suggested but commanded in the Bible and so failure to keep the sabbath is disobedience to God’s command
2. So that we may be sanctified: In Exodus 31:13, God reveals Himself to the children of Israel as Jehovah- Maccadeshem (The Lord thy Sanctifier) in relation with keeping the Sabbath. Coincidence? Of course not! I may not be able to explain to you here in words that you can understand but there is a sanctification work that is associated with the sabbath observance that we miss when we fail to observe it.
3. So that our fasting may be genuine before the Lord: In Isaiah 58:13-14, the Lord commands keeping the Sabbath as part of true fasting. Another coincidence? Absolutely not! May God help us discern the depths of knowledge and wisdom embedded in these scriptures
4. All work done on the Sabbath is fruitless: The Israelites who went out to gather manna on the Sabbath came back empty-handed Exodus. 16:27-28. Their labor not only yielded no fruit but drained them of the strength they had before setting out to do work on the sabbath day. We may not agree but that is true of all labors that happen on the sabbath for us today.
5. In order to connect with what God is doing in the Spirit realm: In Revelation 1:10-11, the Bible records that while John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, he heard a loud voice behind Him like a trumpet. Why would God bother to tell us that it was on the Lord’s day that this revelation was given to John? I know that different people may give different reasons for that but I believe that there is a divine connection that we encounter when we observe the Sabbath that we otherwise miss out on.
So what am I saying? What if your work schedule robs you of both Saturdays and Sundays? We all know that the Jewish Sabbath is on Saturdays and that is when the Old Testament Church met to worship but after the resurrection, the New Testament started meeting on the Lord’s day – Sunday. I belong to the school that encourages each one to set aside a day of rest if both Saturday and Sunday happen to be helplessly out of their control. It is important that you set aside a day to rest.
I have experienced the power and refreshment that comes from obeying that command and encourage you to get that rest. Although at first it may seem like you are losing one full day on which you could catch up with one thing or another, the strength that comes from observing the sabbath is beyond what words can describe.
So prayerfully set aside your sabbath and OBSERVE it!!! 🙂
Journey with Della 