Learning To Observe And Keep A Sabbath

In review of Exodus 20:9-10b it says, “You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.”

Bottom Line:

We have six days to do our regular work, the seventh day should be a day of rest dedicated to the Lord our God.

What this means to me:

I have six days in which to do my daily duties and regular work, however I should keep a seventh, Sabbath day of rest dedicated to God.

What I’m learning is that I need to make a more conscious decision to make time for things other than my work. If I don’t, I may never really rest. One suggestion I’ve heard about is to make a conscious decision on how many hours I should work each week, and then stick to it so that I don’t get burned out.

This is much like a bow and arrow. When a bow is constantly strung too tight, it will lose its power. Often it has to be unstrung periodically. Given this I need to set realistic hours and vacation time. I should then hold myself accountable; and perhaps ask someone to check up on me in the process.

In addition obtaining proper rest just isn’t good advice, it’s important to the heart of God, (he has put it into the Ten Commandments; along with “Do not murder,” “Do not lie,” and “Do not steal.” “Take a day off every seven days” made it on God’s top 10 list of moral behaviors. I should put it on mine as well.

The Bible says, “You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me” (Exodus 20:9-10 GNT). This is called the Sabbath, which simply means a “day of rest.”

So what should I on my Sabbath?

Rest my body. If I don’t take time off, my body will make me take time off. My back will have problems, I’ll get a headache or I’ll even get a cold or the flu. God didn’t design our bodies to go without rest. That’s why sometimes the most spiritual thing I can do on my Sabbath is to take a nap!

Recharge my emotions. This may take different forms for me, at times it could mean recharging through quietness, recreation or via relationships. I just need to make it part of my regular Sabbath.

Refocus my spirit. I need to worship on my Sabbath. I can take time to focus on God instead of my problems. Worship will help put everything else in perspective. It has the ability to shrink my problems. It will remind me that God is still on his throne and that He’ll help me through whatever struggles I’m going through. Before I know it, any problem I’ve stressed over won’t be as big any more.

Everyone needs a Sabbath in their lives. It doesn’t have to be on a Sunday. Actually It can be any day of the week, but I do need to take one day off a week to rest my body, recharge my emotions, and refocus my spirit.

In summary, I have six days in which to do my daily duties and regular work, however I should observe a seventh day of rest dedicated to God.