Rest

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; 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.  Isaiah 58:13-14

      This was the passage that first set me thinking about Sabbath. I knew, of course, that the fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, but as a believer I must admit I had given it little thought. Somehow it seemed to me a lesser commandment, and early in my walk I never paid it much heed. In recent years, I have given some marginal thought to Sabbath and taken a day off of laundry and making my bed, but that was about as far as I went with the concept. Until lately, that is.

     In the last several weeks, God has been showing me not only how important Sabbath is for the modern-day believer, but also what it is. The Sabbath is supposed to be a holy day of rest--that is to say, a day set apart from other days for the sole purpose of repose. However, it is not a day of sloth and self-indulgence. As we see in the passage from Isaiah, the purpose of Sabbath is to delight in the Lord, taking our rest in Him. He and He alone should be the focus of Sabbath, and He is our respite, our refuge, our resting place. That is not to say that Sabbath ought to be boring or dull--far from it. The reality is, if we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, having an entire day set apart to spend with Him is a grand affair; a promised glimpse of glory to look forward to in the dreary drudgery of everyday life. We are privileged to spend one day a week indulging in quality time with our Father, delighting in Him, maybe learning a little more about Him, and above all honoring Him. Sabbath is meant as a gift, not a burden.

     Concerning whether or not to appoint a specific day as the proper one to observe Sabbath is another question I had. I found that Romans 14:1-9 seems to leave it open for discussion. I admit I am not entirely convinced that every day should not be a Sabbath to the Lord for His disciples, since we are to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" and because we now live for Him. But that is a squirrel I will not chase today.  Even so, there is great merit--and great reward--to setting aside an entire day for the sole purpose of spending time with God in rest. Making a hard and fast rule about when Sabbath should be observed seems to miss the point a bit, however that freedom to choose would be unwisely used as freedom to choose not to observe a Sabbath rest. As I've mentioned in other musings, our freedom in Christ is not meant to provide the freedom to sin but rather freedom from it. Sabbath should still be honored diligently now that Christ has come to save us; if anything it ought to be more often now than ever before. The observance of Sabbath for today's believer offers a visible way to be set apart in a day of tranquility in a world that is quickly devouring itself with hurry as well as a day spent in gratitude and praise for the incredible sacrificial love of our Lord.

     So we see that Sabbath is still a viable command. But what does "Sabbath" look like?  For some, Sabbath may be a day devoted to Bible study and prayer, but it can also look like a day of worship spent hiking, reveling in the splendor of creation, perhaps singing songs of praise perhaps not. It can be found in meditating on a passage of Scripture while lying on our backs and staring at the deep blue sky. It could be pondering the mysteries of His fingerprints in nature while we go bird-watching, or relishing a picnic in gratitude for His provision of food and fellowship. It could be snuggling up with our families over a cup of hot cocoa and singing praises to our God or trading stories of His goodness on a frozen winter's day. Or any number of permutations--whatever it is that causes you to draw closer to Him, to appreciate His glory, to feel grateful for His goodness. And to rest. To truly rest in the Lord and draw refreshment from the unending Well of living water. That is the purpose of Sabbath.

     Fine, great, good. But how can I possibly do it? That was my question for so long, and to be honest, it is a great deal of effort for me to make Sabbath happen. Today's world is all bustle and bluster, never slowing down to taste life much less to savor its Creator. I have often found myself too busy for Sabbath. However, the words of Isaiah convicted me and I saw that my busy-ness was really a failure to fully obey. Thus unmasked, the thing was found to be merely the sin of unbelief.  I did not have enough faith in my God to take that day of rest and reflection, trusting in Him to help me fulfill my needful duties. Like Martha, I was worried and upset over many things and could not fathom how it was possible to make time to merely sit at my Lord's feet and listen.

     I have tried to imagine my Father's amusement when I displayed for Him my many excuses, most of them self-imposed and not on His to-do list for me at all! I found myself ashamed, having to admit that many of my good activities were not truly good, for they were not directed by my Father. Having learned that, I was faced with a choice: Let God dictate my task list, believing that He will grant all that I need to accomplish His will every day of the week, including His will that I spend a day focused on Him, or do not believe. What once seemed so complicated as I tried desperately to justify my unbelief actually boiled down to this simple truth: Trust or do not trust.

     Faced with the bald truth, I now see no other way. I choose to fight for Sabbath and to strive to keep my activities, my thoughts, my will trained exclusively on Him at least one day of every week. I will rest in my God, and I know that in Him alone will I find the strength to continue. I will do my utmost to honor the Sabbath--whatever day of the week it is for me--and to keep it as a holy day to worship, adore, and bask in the presence of my God and my King. I will thrill in it as a gracious gift of solace from my Father, the King of Glory.
      Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)  This command to keep the Sabbath is a gracious, pleasant gift, but one I have been delinquent in opening. I must say, it is fast becoming the most wonderful day of my week, and I haven't a clue how I thought I could keep pace with the rest of life without it.


    As a side note: My friend and pastor gave an excellent sermon on Sabbath very recently, nicely coinciding with all God had been showing me. If you would like to hear his thoughts, you can listen to it here: http://www.graceparkchurch.org/index.php/preachit/audio/12.html

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.