Friday January 12, 2024

Today is Friday, January 12 and we are learning what the Bible says about Sabbath.

As I begin this time of prayer, I quiet my mind, slow my breathing and focus on God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As a new year begins I seek to learn how God wants to bless me through the practice of Sabbath.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, you created me and you know what is best for me. Teach me how to stop my busyness, rest in your love and delight in your presence. I want to live the rhythm of life you designed for me. Amen.

I praise the God of refuge and rest in his love with the words of Psalm 5.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:11-12

Pause and Pray

The number seven has particular significance in the Bible. Seven indicates completion and perfection. God established the seventh day as a day of rest and the seventh year as a year of rest. He instituted the Year of Jubilee to take place after the seventh cycle of seven years. The Year of Jubilee was an economic, cultural, environmental and communal reset. The land and the people are made to rest, debts are canceled, properties are returned and slaves are set free and sent home.

The LORD said to Moses at Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.” Leviticus 25:1-7

God built a rhythm into the created order that calls for times of stop and rest. God created my human body and the planet Earth to live in a rhythm intended to bring blessing, fruition, peace and prosperity. When I lose this sense of rhythm or pace, of back and forth, I lose God’s blessing. I am not a machine, I am God’s beloved creation and I have a soul. I was not created to think and move twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. God calls me to stop and rest. Get a good night’s sleep and feel refreshed in the morning. Enjoy a day apart and be renewed.

Ask: What interferes with my need to stop and rest? Where might God want me to find joy and delight in a practice of Sabbath?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, you command the earth itself to have a time of rest and renewal. Overwork and overuse is not your desire for Creation. Yet the surrounding culture pushes us to do more, produce more, sow more, reap more, in a never ending frenzy. Help me slow down and appreciate the gentle simplicity of how you are calling me to live. I read the words from Leviticus again and listen for the message you have for me.

The LORD said to Moses at Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.” Leviticus 25:1-7

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

There are many ideas on how to practice a weekly Sabbath. I can begin by enjoying a sundown Sabbath meal with friends and loved ones. I can light a candle and say a short prayer. If I observe Sabbath on Sundays, morning worship with my church marks the beginning of my day. The ancient practice of Sabbath includes twelve traditional activities – lighting candles, blessing children, eating a meal, expressing gratitude, singing, worshiping, walking, napping, loving, reading scripture, spending time alone with God and spending time with family and friends. These are twelve best practices that will bless me over time.

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord God, open my mind to new ways of living as a faithful disciple in this broken world. Help me find rest for my weary soul and discover a weekly respite set free from the burdens the surrounding culture places on me. Inspire my Sabbath devotion so I can realize the good blessings you have for me and my family. Amen.

Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. Leviticus 26:34

I leave this time of prayer inspired to practice God’s gift of Sabbath. I go to labor for the Lord looking forward to an upcoming day of rest.

Amen