It Starts Small

I love that God commands us to rest!

⁸ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: ⁹ You are to labor six days and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates. ¹¹ For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

This commandment shows the loving care God has towards His people. By commanding us to rest, He sets Himself apart and His people from surrounding nations. God gives us two interesting reasons for doing this.

When God created everything He gave us a pattern to follow. He spent six days doing the work of creation and then on the seventh, He rested. (Genesis 1) He calls us to function in that same pattern. Six days of working and tending, then one day resting in Him. This sets us apart from other people because we must rely on Him instead of ourselves. It is a reminder that the world does not rest upon our shoulders and we can trust God to take care of things. We do not have to do it all. HE commands us to let go of our self reliance and instead rest in who He is.

It also shows we are no longer slaves. When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they were required to work every single day of the week. There was no rest. With God’s command to rest, He shows His people He is different by giving them the freedom with an invitation to rest in that freedom. In the same way, if we know CHrist as our Lord and Savior, HE has set us free from the power of sin through His death, burial and resurrection. We do not have to live in slavery to sin. WE can rest in the freedom Jesus has given to us.

Rest can be difficult. We sometimes give in to the temptation to define ourselves by our accomplishments instead of resting in the identity of Christ. I can tell you it grieves my heart to know that my identity rested for many years in worldly accomplishments that came with paper awards, monetary gifts, and recognition. I was driven to work and achieve and make things…which there is nothing wrong with that, but Satan hijacks that good desire and turns it into an idol. Instead of being able to recognize I was already someone to my heavenly Father, I sought to be someone to anyone. By setting aside one day a week to rest in God, we remember God is the One running the universe, not us.

Today, meditate upon:

How is the Sabbath a gift?

Why is it important to gather together with other believers to rest in and worship Jesus?

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

²³ On the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry — ²⁶ how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence —which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests —and also gave some to his companions?” ²⁷ Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:23-27

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Part 1: God’s Holiness Revealed
Part 2: Depending on God
Part 3: Image of God
Part 4: What is in a Name?
Part 5: Resting in God
Part 6: Lifelong Honor
Part 7: Living in Unity
Part 8: Following a Faithful God
Part 9: Work and Generosity
Part 10 Honest Justice
Part 11: Transformed Hearts