Busy, busy, busy. Laundry, cooking, cleaning….Children’s needs, husband’s needs. I have the most wonderful appliances ever made, but that doesn’t mean that someone will make our supper, clean the kitchen or do my laundry. No, it’s my job. So where does that leave time for God? Being a Christian doesn’t exempt my busyness.
When raising my children, Sunday, was my busiest day of the week. I remember having my four small children to feed, clothed in their best outfits and packed in the car, praying that they would stay clean long enough to get them to Sunday school. Then for the next couple of hours I could concentrate on my worship! Right? Well almost. My mind was already planning lunch. But God understands, doesn’t He?
Yes, He does, but He also wants us to spend time with Him, in worship and prayer and to give us a day of rest as well.
A day of rest? What a wonderful idea!!
When God gave His instructions to Moses (we call them the Law or Torah) He said “Remember theSabbath to keep it holy.”(Exodus 20:8) That means a day set apart, special. The Sabbath always starts on sundown Friday to sundown on Sat. Man was to do no work. Even the animals got a day off. The Rabbis wrote a set of rules for just how much work could be done on the Sabbath. They locked “horns’ with Jesus on that.
The Lord said “The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) Jesus was insistent that God gave man permission to have a day of rest for himself, his workers, and his animals, but at the same time life was to be enjoyed and not encumbered with severe rules and regulations. The Pharisees were insistent that man didn’t overstep the boundaries of keeping the Sabbath devoted to God. It was to be a special day when both the mind and body could rest. Jesus agreed but within the boundaries God had set.
Can we, as believers, also have a Sabbath rest? I believe we can and must. Not necessarily on our worship day, Sunday, but a perhaps a special time to be alone with God, resting in Him; a day for family, and perhaps fellowship with other believers or a day just for us. No chores, no duties that demand our attention.
This new phase of your worship can be done in small increments of time. Start slowly….perhaps, only a couple of hours at first. No phones, TV or whatever 21st century gadgets you have. This is a time for God and you, study, or family time.
But setting that time aside won’t be easy. It takes planning and perseverance on our part. It takes determination. The chores must wait. Good Jewish mothers who observe the Sabbath rest can do it…..why can’t we?
What will you remember five years from now? A beautiful day of rest with family, friends, devotion time to God or the dishes that got washed and clothes ironed.
AbideLines 