Simple Sabbath
Do you honor the Sabbath?
Verse of the Day
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”
“Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.”
Today’s Devotional
When I look at the Ten Commandments, I can see clearly that they are in our best interests. It’s good for us not to murder, covet, or commit adultery. It’s good for us to worship God only and to remove any hint of idolatry in our lives. So why do we not intentionally honor the Sabbath? Jesus says that the Sabbath was made to meet our needs. Do we trust God enough to get everything done in 6 days and give Him one each week?
Author and writer Kaitlyn Bouchillon tells us her experience in the following story:
“We were driving down the road on a Sunday afternoon when my friend began to talk about keeping the Sabbath. I distinctly remember listening closely and then replying, “That’s great for you, and I’m glad you’re choosing Sabbath, but I just don’t have time for that.”
Conviction came quickly and I felt the Spirit stirring inside: When did checking boxes and crossing things off a list become so important that obeying God took a back seat?
Swept up in the current, answering every “How are you?” with “I’m good, just busy!”, I was far from rested and couldn’t see an end to the raging rapids I’d jumped into.
The following week, I decided to truly “try” Sabbath one time, to set aside an entire day for worship and rest. It took more work than I imagined and more time to prepare than I predicted, but I was determined to give it a shot.
It’s been seven years since that afternoon drive, and choosing Sabbath has changed everything. Everything. And it has drawn me into a life of simplicity I never could have imagined. It realigns my heart with God’s and reprioritizes what is most important.
When I intentionally slow down and remember my smallness in light of God’s greatness, I’m suddenly aware that I’ve been holding my breath, and somehow now I can breathe again.
The addition of Sabbath is the subtraction of hurry, of rushing and performing and achieving. It’s a weekly declaration to my own heart that God is more important than my to-do list. It’s the recognition that when I feel I don’t have time for Sabbath, I actually need it all the more.
It’s a choosing and a finding, a trusting that if He breathes stars into being and walks on the water, He can surely help me handle my daily demands and concerns. I just have one requirement—to keep my eyes focused on Him.
Sabbath is an invitation to slow down and rest in God’s presence, a promise made that always leads to a promise kept: He is enough.”
Usually when a topic keeps coming up, it’s because God is inviting me to obey Him. Sabbath kept coming up, so we began honoring the Sabbath at the end of April this year. I am not yet to the place where our Sabbath practice feels normal or settled. We are still working out the kinks. But that is part of the process. We continue to do research on what scholars suggest for Christians honoring Sabbath in today’s world. Some weeks our Sabbath feels wonderful and restful. Some weeks it feels…”off”. For now, we will just keep trying until we have a better understanding of what Sabbath needs to look like for us. But one thing I know: understanding never precedes obedience.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you currently honor the Sabbath? If not, why?
What value do you see in the other commandments? Are they good? Are they in your best interests?
How could you intentionally devote one day a week to God? What would that look like? Are you willing to try it? What are your objections?