A God Given Day Off
Stop the merry-go-round! I want to get off! Has your life ever felt like that? Do you feel enslaved by the never ending “To-Do” list? Guess what? Relief is available!
God, our creator foreknew we would be overwhelmed with stressors and commitments so He implemented an escape plan for us! He even demonstrated it for us – way back during creation.
“In six days God finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” Genesis 2:1-3
Do you suppose God really needed a rest? Of course not! He established that for our benefit!
Jump ahead to when He freed the Israelites from 400+ years of slavery. He led them to the promised land and gave them a new set of rules to live by. Guess what one of them was? A day off! In all their years of slavery they had never enjoyed a day off work! Now God blessed them with one every week!
He said, “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought your out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your god has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” Deut 5:12-15.
“But that was Old Testament Law and doesn’t apply to us today,” you say. Really? It’s smack dab in the middle of nine other laws applicable to us today, such as “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, etc. When did God give us the right to pick and choose which of His commands we follow? Jesus said,
“I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. I tell you truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19
So, if God established a Sabbath day – a day to stop work and to focus on Him – and then commanded we observe it why do we choose to ignore it? If one day off per week can rest our bodies, refresh our minds and restore our spirits – if He intended it for our benefit – why wouldn’t we take advantage of it?
Consider it a perk of being a Christian! I dare you: Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy!
