Sabbath Rest

-
  
 Leviticus 23, verses 1–3 gives us what feels like a preamble to its later content. Before God speaks of annual feasts, He begins with the weekly Sabbath. That is important.
Before the celebrations, the pilgrimages, or the sacred seasons, He begins with rest.The Sabbath comes first. 
That tells us something profound:
Rest is not an afterthought in the life of God’s people. It is foundational. God did not give Sabbath as punishment. He gave it as a gift.
   It was never meant to be a burden. It was meant to be merciful blessing. A day to step away from ordinary work and striving.A day to be restored.A day to remember that God is God, and we are not.
   The Sabbath invites us to stop looking at our work and refocus on His. It reminds us that the world continues spinning without our constant effort.That is humbling, 
and it is freeing.
   For many of us this is difficult.
Because stopping is difficult.
There is always one more load of laundry, one more email, or one more meal. One more thing to prepare. One more need to meet.
The work is never fully done.
Since the work is never done, rest can feel irresponsible.
The Sabbath exposes something in us.It reveals how hard it is to trust God enough to stop. The Sabbath is not just about rest. It is about surrender.
It is the surrender of our schedules-our productivity, our sense of control-- even our need to keep everything moving.
If we are honest, that is hard.
I know it is for me. I do not Sabbath naturally. I do not stop easily.
My mind moves to the next task, the next need, the next responsibility. And often, I keep going.
But when I refuse God’s rhythm, I am the one who misses the blessing. I miss the rest. I miss the reset. I miss the reminder. I miss the gift. That gift is Jesus who ultimately fulfilled the Sabbath rest presented in the Old Testament. 
Remember the rhythms? Rest is an integral part of the daily and weekly rhythms our God set in motion at Creation. He wove the Sabbath into the festivals and remembrance  celebrations as a part of the worship offered back to Him. Even the land was commanded to take a rest every seven years! This pointed ahead to the perfect rest that Jesus came to offer. 
This is a Sacred rhythm. A rhythm of worship and restoration.  One that reminds us of our all-powerful Creator. While we are restored in mind and spirit, we simultaneously offer to the Lord the honor due His name. Yes, Jesus fulfilled this perfectly. But the offer of rest did not end with Jesus. The Sabbath continues as a regular reminder and gift to our bodies and souls. 
   Only our God could create such a beautiful pattern of worship and restoration. He offers us rest in our earthly lives and rest in our Spirit through Jesus. We just have to accept it!

Soli Deo Gloria!
Heather Sparks 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Taking Shelter in the Shadow of the Almighty

-
Image
      When life presses in pretty close and trials and troubles encroach on our hearts, where can we turn? When schedules and concerns overwhelm our minds, how are we to cope? When we can't even form words to pray, what will bring peace to our soul?     The Word of God provides the answers. The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than a sword. The Word of God is the Bible. The Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is our peace and our comfort. The Word of God is our refuge when the storms of life are howling all around us.       The Psalms are one place in the Word of God that can provide the clarity of thought and the peace and calm to our souls that we need. My father gave me a Psalter many years ago. A Psalter is the Psalms of the Bible put into a form for singing (often to traditional hymns that are very familiar to me.)  I love to open this book and read this version of the Psalms, often humming them to the tu...
Read more

Called to be Different

-
Image
    Wherefore come out from among t hem, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,  2 Corinthians 6:17   I have often heard this verse taken out of context from the pulpit over the years. It has been used to dictate minutia regarding appearances and lifestyle. Some have even taken this as living in almost complete isolation from the world as much as possible. This is often taught in a manner akin to legalism, which places faith in actions rather than the finished work of Christ on the cross. In learning what legalism is, my fleshly reaction was to bounce in the opposite direction from that teaching as a young adult. That was equally in error. I pray that I am slowly understanding more of what God was saying through Paul to the church of Corinth.     First, it is always important to understand the context of any verse that is being studied.  Paul was calling the believers of Corinth to separate themselves from the idol worship that was rampant in their c...
Read more

Spiritual Warfare

-
Image
     Boys seem to naturally love to play war-themed games, don't they?  Sticks and even fingers inevitably turn to guns.  Around our house, the boys are just as likely to turn to full-body wrestling. With seven boys in the house (I have to include the adult boys in this! 😁), it is a constant chore to referee these wrestling matches.  Their energy is never ending, and their imagination is always rolling!     Another battle is constantly raging around us.  It is entirely real. This is not a figment of our imagination.  There is a battle for our souls and the souls of our children.  Each one of us has this battle raging within us every hour of every day.  This is a spiritual battle that is always taking place in our hearts for control of our minds and bodies.  These attacks are led by the Evil One, himself.       As my children grow, I love those times when their minds are captivated by something of true...
Read more