Hello Sweet Friends,
Today’s Reading … Ezekiel 18-27
“Also I gave them My sabbath to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Ezekiel 20:12). As Christians, we often hear the command to “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). It is one of the 10 commandments and repeated throughout Scripture. Do we really know what this means? Can a modern day sabbath exist?
Sabbath is defined as, “a day set apart for prayer and rest.” That is pretty straight forward. Are you practicing a sabbath day? Do you have a day set apart for prayer and rest? Are you thinking that you are more likely to see the Red Sea divide than to manage a full day of rest and prayer? I know! It certainly seems impossible. There is food to prepare, work to be done, sibling arguments to referee, carpool to drive and social media to update.
And yet, we are commanded to observe the sabbath, this is not a recommendation. We do not ignore the other commandments, thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not commit adultery…why do we ignore this one commandment? If you are like me, a command to be still, to reflect and to trust could be the most difficult of all.
As we read the prophets, our theme is “Keeping God First.” The Sabbath is a perfect reflection of our submission that God is first. He comes before all “to-do” lists, all other responsibilities, all other relationships. This is to be the desire of our hearts 7 days a week. The Sabbath is the training grounds for our hearts. On our Sabbath day, we allow our behavior to train our hearts. We actively put God first in our daily activities and our heart begins to learn to put Him first in our spirit on all of the other days of the week as well.
Let’s get practical. Why is this one of the commandments?
1.Understand the Importance – “Also, I gave them My sabbath to be a sign between Me and them”
Sabbaths are a gift from the Lord. If we start the day with that understanding, it will drive our desire to remain faithful to the calling.
2.Understand your Place – “that they might know that I am the Lord”
God is the Lord, not us. Whatever it is that we feel we have to accomplish, He can do it without us. There is no activity that is more important than spending time with the Lord. If the God of the Universe is carving out time to spend with us, surely our list of things to accomplish can wait.
3. Understand the Goal – “who sanctifies them”
The Sabbath day is intended to make us more like God. When we trust Him enough to lay an entire day at His feet, He will be faithful to draw us closer to Himself.
What does it look like to honor the Sabbath?
1. Ask yourself this question, “What are my idols? What do I tend to put before God?”
Work? Family responsibilities? Exercise? A perfect home? People Pleasing?
When you have identified these areas of your life, ask the Lord to give you the strength to lay them aside completely for 1 day out of the week.
2. Replace these idols with spending time with the Lord.
Worship, prayer, Bible study, a walk to enjoy creation. Actively draw into the Lord, He will be waiting to meet with you.
3. Just be His beloved.
You don’t have to be helpful, be strong, be kind, be productive. These are all great qualities, but for this one day, just be His beloved. Rest in the beautiful fact that God loves you, not because of what you can accomplish but because you are His. That is all. Just be His.
This is a simple model, a start to begin our faithfulness to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” It is a step towards “Keeping God First.” My prayer is that our hearts will follow our behaviors and that from these simple acts our desire to know Him more will grow. I pray that He will fill us with conviction to spend more time in His presence, not just on our sabbath days, but every day of our lives.
Love you all,
Kinsee
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return empty, but accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
