You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord…The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed. Exodus 31:15-17 (NLT)
The sabbath wasn’t commanded because of the fall in the garden. God rested on the seventh day following the creation. This underscores the importance God placed on work and rest even before sin entered the world.
To my understanding, Sabbath is first and foremost rest then worship. Rest from all physical and mental work. Worship is to first offer ourselves to God. To acknowledge that He is our strength and hope. To reflect on God’s goodness through the working week. To thank Him for His favour and lovingkindness regardless of how the week had been. The chance and opportunity to be refreshed and renewed in Hm.
Proper rest helps improve our mental well-being. Mental health issues have been highly and widely reported in recent times. This affects people from all works of life regardless of the nature of the job they do. When you’re mentally exhausted due to lack of rest, it can set off all sorts of emotions that can affect the whole body physically.
God created us to have fellowship with Him and to enjoy His creation. Unfortunately, sin has caused us to distort rest. We either live restless lives fuelled by our sinful ambitious desires and constant work, or we withdraw into laziness enwrapped in our electronic devices. Neither provides the rest that God intended for us. Rest that begins and completes in Him.
One of the problems with man is that we think we’ve got our lives all figured out. We sometimes think we are superhumans and superfit to work long hours. Some are on diets or cocktails of energy-boosting supplements which keeps them going. They will argue that if they are fit and healthy, they see no reason to slow down. Church leaders who work very long hours doing ‘God’s work’, need to be careful too. So that they are not mentally drained or suffer burnout due to inadequate or lack of rest.
I know that some have no choice but to work long hours and work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. We do, however, need to be careful that working long hours or working multiple jobs is not motivated by envy or covetousness.
Hear what the preacher said, “Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin. And yet, better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind…Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” Ecclesiastes 4:4-6; 6:9 (NLT)
The Sabbath is a gift from God to man. It’s a time to reflect and appreciate God’s goodness. It’s a time to help our body recover from work. Let’s use it wisely.
Stay blessed,
Alex
Hills and Valleys 