June 16, 2017
Protect Your Sabbath Rest
Lisa Morrone, PT
Today’s Truth
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 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(Exodus 20:8-11, NIV).
Friend to Friend
In today’s rush-rush world, do you ever wonder if the Lord’s ideas about the Sabbath are still viable?
For half of my adult life I lived as if this 4th commandment was as antiquated as the parchment on which it was written. Pressured by the demands of the upcoming week, I would use part of “my” Sabbath day to get a head start by food shopping, throwing in a load of clothes, finishing a house project, or working in the yard.
One day the Holy Spirit confronted me. He revealed to me that my misuse of the Sabbath was actually a sign of mistrust on my part. If I was honest, I had to agree with Him. My actions proved I wasn’t trusting God to empower me to get everything done in the upcoming week without me stealing part of His Sabbath day for my purposes.
After that albeit uncomfortable revelation, I decided to begin trusting God with my whole week, beginning with the newly honored Sabbath day—and guess what? Instead of becoming hopelessly behind in my tasks by the week’s end (as I had assumed), my other six days actually proved to be far more productive than normal. Undergirded with a day of Sabbath rest, I found new creative energy and I warded off burn out and illness, even under the weight of a heavy schedule!
Today’s Scripture tells us that after God spent six days creating the world, He paused on the seventh day to rest. Did the Lord Almighty need to pause to put His feet up? I doubt that was the case. Instead I believe the Lord was modeling a behavior He wanted us to follow. He purposed himself to pause on that day and consider the work He had completed—stating that what He had accomplished “was good.” The Lord enjoyed reflecting on a job (or week) well done. When was the last time you set aside a day to do just that?
You and I have been engineered with bodies that require adequate sleep, rest, and even recreation in order to function optimally and to feel well. Setting the Sabbath apart from the busyness of the rest of the week breeds physical, mental, and emotional health by allowing us the opportunity to reflect, recreate, and recharge.
So if you are experiencing burn out, lacking creativity, or struggling with frequent illnesses, perhaps you’ve been leaving the gift of the Sabbath Day unopened as I did for far too many years.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord of the Sabbath, forgive us for falling short of Your will and for disobeying Your command to honor the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. Please quicken our hearts to be Jesus followers in every way and on every day of the week. We exist to bring You praise.
In Your precious and Holy Name we pray,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
So here is my challenge for you this week—trust Jesus. Accept the gift of the Sabbath the Lord has given you. Spend time with God, enjoying His presence, His creation, reflecting on the productivity of the past week, and getting recharged for the upcoming week. I trust you’ll find that your Heavenly Father had your best interest in mind when He commanded the observance of the Sabbath.
More from the Girlfriends
Lisa Morrone, PT is a physical therapist, professor, author of six books, radio guest and event speaker who encourages people to “Get Healthy for Heaven’s Sake.” Visit Lisa’s website for more information and to sign up to receive her informative “Monday Morning Health Tips”!
Sleep Well Again (Harvest House Publishers) is one of Lisa Morrone’s six books in her Restoring Your Temple® health resource collection. Her books are available on Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,or wherever books are sold.
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