The Renovation of Rest
We are living in “The Great Pause.”
“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider what parts of
normal are worth rushing back to.” — Dave Hollis
If we end up back in the same stressed out, worn out, and burned out
way of life we were in before this started, then we’ve lost the lesson.
Genesis 2:2-3 NIV
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so
on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the
seventh day and made it HOLY, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he had done.
Sabbath // Shaabat — to cease, to abstain, to desist from, to end, to
stop
God created one day every week to be holy.
Exodus 20:8-11 NIV
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the
Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your
son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals,
nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but
he RESTED on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day and made it HOLY.”
God created one day every week to be holy, to rest.
2 Chronicles 36:21 NLT
So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled.
The land finally enjoyed its SABBATH REST, lying desolate until the
seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.
Unobserved Sabbaths ACCUMULATE.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 NLT
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord you God
has commanded you. 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 … REMEMBER that you were once slaves in Egypt,
but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and
powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to
rest on the Sabbath day.”
God created one day every week to be holy, to rest, and remember.
We’ve been set free but we’re still living as slaves.
God created one day every week to be holy, to rest, and remember,
and reflect.
Genesis 28:16 NIV
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in
this place, and I was not aware of it.”
Are we standing on holy ground all the time, passing burning bushes
on the left and the right, but we miss them because we’re moving too
fast and we never stop to reflect?
God created one day every week to be holy, to rest, and remember,
and reflect, and reconnect.
“You can’t walk with God in a hurry. Heaven moves at a certain pace
and transmits its messages at a certain frequency.” — Chip Judd
There are 3 levels of understanding the Sabbath:
- Rest from your work.
- Rest from even the thought of work.
- Rest as if all your work is done.
