Genesis 2:2-3 NKJV "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
This is the first verse I turned to when studying the Sabbath yesterday. Yesterday I woke up and was kind of distraught. Even at my young age I reflect on my life and ask myself 'Am I truly following God?' Sometimes I make my own decisions without even consulting God first and I believe if I would just take the time out to ask God about what to do for the day it would make me feel more accomplished in my day. Therefore, yesterday I asked God 'What should I do for the day?' Even though I asked Him I still had my own ideas about His response. I thought He would tell me to work some more on my business or to get up and do something. Though I had my own thoughts and plans about His answer, yet thank God, His thoughts and ways are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9)! First, the Lord told me to pray. After I had prayed the Lord told me to rest. When God told me to rest I was confused. I thought He would tell me to do something, yet instead, He told me to rest. It didn't truly dawn on me till later that day that it was the Sabbath. It s easy for me to not celebrate the Sabbath because I feel too busy, yet I forget that the Sabbath is not a holiday that you celebrate or a day off that you take as needed, yet it is a commandment of the Lord. A commandment that should be followed just like any other.
Mark 2:27 NKJV "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'
It truly is a blessing that God would make the Sabbath for us! Why? Well, God knows that we work all throughout the week. Also, God created the Sabbath so that we may have a day of rest with our Father. Just as God is a hard worker, we are made in that same hard-working spirit. Knowing that the Sabbath is a commandment and a blessing makes one wonder, 'How do we truly follow it?'
Exodus 20:8-11 In verse 8 it tells us to first remember the Sabbath day. to keep it holy. From this one verse alone it is obvious how much God knows us. God knows that it is so easy to forget this day of rest. Yesterday I could not understand why God would want me to rest when I felt like there was so much work to be done, but that was because I forgot the Sabbath. Also, the second part of this verse tells us to keep the Sabbath day holy. What does that mean? The definition of holy is dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. To keep the Sabbath holy means that the seventh day of our week should be dedicated to God. The whole day. I personally know that I do not practice this often. How many times have you given your whole day to the Lord? Maybe we give our day to tv, social media, youtube, ourselves, work, friends, or family, but how many times do we give it to the Lord? What does dedicating your whole day to the Lord look like? It looks like not doing any work, being shut in with God, praising God, studying His Word, and prayer. In other words, it looks like resting in and with the Lord.
God commands us not to lie, steal, kill, commit adultery, etc. and we try our best to follow these commands, yet when God commands us to rest (something that is for us) we often forget about it. Why is that? Sometimes we allow other things to get in the way such as work, family, fun, friends, etc. Also sometimes we just forget about it. God knows what our weeks look like and how busy they are. Sometimes Saturdays are the only day off that we have which leaves us asking 'What are we to do?' Well, it goes back to my dilemma at the beginning of this post. I felt so distraught and unaccomplished because I did not seek God about what to do in my day. This dilemma I had was not just about the seventh day yet all seven days. God knows all and He is in control of all things, so we should just allow God to take control of every day so that we may feel more accomplished and at rest. Resting with God on the seventh day will spill blessings and miraculous change into the other six.
God bless you all and thank you for reading!