Something unexpected and refreshing God has been teaching me I would like to share with you.
I said yes to following Jesus when was 15 years old. I’ve learn about the ten commandments. And I thought that these are simple enough rules to follow no big deal.
1. You shall not have any other god before me
2. You shall not make any idols to worship
3. Do not take the Lords name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not lie
10. You shall not cover your neighbors stuff
(Phrased from my memory) Read them all in Exodus 20: 1-17
Over the years God has helped me to understand each one in different ways. Most recently God has highlighted this commandment, God’s word says in Exodus,
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
The Hebrew word for sabbath is, to rest.
Heres a defintion I found on the internet, Sabbath in the Bible Expand. (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). “The sabbath was made for man,” as a day of rest and refreshment for the body and of blessing to the soul.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exo 20:9?-?11 NIV
In the beginning of God’s word, when God was all done creating, he rested and then He’s asking us to do the same.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Gen 2:2?-?3 NIV
I don’t know about you but for me the idea of resting and not doing anything is something that doesn’t come natural anymore. It’s something that sounds wonderful yet I can never seem to turn my mind off of thinking of the millions of things I need to do or get done. Resting for me tends to only happen when I make time for it and it’s pretty much a scheduled thing in life.
The last two months God has been teaching me about resting. Sabbath rest, is something I have taken for granted over the years. Being on the world race and more specifically in South America, God is redefining what Sabbath rest looks like.
There have been many Sundays when we have gone out into the city or town and have found that all the shops are closed and all the restaurant were closed. At first I found this very frustrating. Then God gently brought to my attention the commandment of honoring the sabbath and keeping it holy. My fast pace American lifestyle is slowing down and discovering the beauty in Sabbath rest.
My team and I quickly develop a normal pattern of Sabbath rest. We spend time in the Bible together and praise worship, and do nothing but reading or talk to each other. We each have gone through times of wanting to do, or go somewhere but again are reminded of the importance of rest.
If God, commanded that we rest, why have we made ourselves so busy and have gone away from the importance of resting.
I challenge you to pray about your Sabbath rest and ask the Lord if you are truly resting.
