Early in this year's adult bible study, Jeff Cavins talked about the Sabbath at length. I've been thinking about the Sabbath and how it plays in my life.
I'm a busy person. Always busy. There's home and work and music and volunteering and entertainment. There's a husband and sons and extended family and friends and coworkers. There's important stuff and unimportant stuff that feels important. And there are only 24 hours in a day.
I asked Jakob if he could guess my favorite bible passage. "That's easy," he said, "Be still and know I am God." He's absolutely correct - that amazing son of mine. Psalm 46:10. Were I able to fully enter into that verse, I wouldn't quake in the face of fear. Why would I have to? If I know who God is, I have nothing to fear.
Yet, I fear.
I wonder if it's because I haven't yet had a Sabbath.
The Sabbath is about rest. It's about trust. It's about faith.
I give lip service to trust and faith, but are they REAL for me? When something bad happens, do I rest in my faith or do I try to solve the problem myself?
For a long time, I thought I could solve problems.
One day I realized I couldn't.
And did I rest in the Lord?
Nope.
I tried all kinds of cures that didn't work. I tried all kinds of solutions contrary to what I believe. I tried faith in the short term: God, if you make this better, I'm yours.
Guess what?
Everything failed, including me.
As a failure, I'll say one thing: God loves me anyway and I don't care about the rest.
Truth. I don't care about the rest.
My goal is to learn to keep the Sabbath. If God could rest, why can't I? Is my work more important? More relevant? More sincere?
Nope.
I'm going to rest. And I'm starting with mornings. I go to work now at 11. And between 5:45 and 11:00, I LIVE. I LOVE. I LEARN.
I will keep the sabbath. If entering into rest is important to God, it's important to me. I just have to learn to leave the world behind and let go of temporal pleasure.
I WILL be there. I will rest. I WILL enter the Sabbath.
I'm a busy person. Always busy. There's home and work and music and volunteering and entertainment. There's a husband and sons and extended family and friends and coworkers. There's important stuff and unimportant stuff that feels important. And there are only 24 hours in a day.
I asked Jakob if he could guess my favorite bible passage. "That's easy," he said, "Be still and know I am God." He's absolutely correct - that amazing son of mine. Psalm 46:10. Were I able to fully enter into that verse, I wouldn't quake in the face of fear. Why would I have to? If I know who God is, I have nothing to fear.
Yet, I fear.
I wonder if it's because I haven't yet had a Sabbath.
The Sabbath is about rest. It's about trust. It's about faith.
I give lip service to trust and faith, but are they REAL for me? When something bad happens, do I rest in my faith or do I try to solve the problem myself?
For a long time, I thought I could solve problems.
One day I realized I couldn't.
And did I rest in the Lord?
Nope.
I tried all kinds of cures that didn't work. I tried all kinds of solutions contrary to what I believe. I tried faith in the short term: God, if you make this better, I'm yours.
Guess what?
Everything failed, including me.
As a failure, I'll say one thing: God loves me anyway and I don't care about the rest.
Truth. I don't care about the rest.
My goal is to learn to keep the Sabbath. If God could rest, why can't I? Is my work more important? More relevant? More sincere?
Nope.
I'm going to rest. And I'm starting with mornings. I go to work now at 11. And between 5:45 and 11:00, I LIVE. I LOVE. I LEARN.
I will keep the sabbath. If entering into rest is important to God, it's important to me. I just have to learn to leave the world behind and let go of temporal pleasure.
I WILL be there. I will rest. I WILL enter the Sabbath.
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