Tuesday January 9, 2024

Today is Tuesday, January 9 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 thank God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. I praise him with the ancient words of Psalm 62.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:5-7

Pause and Pray

Sabbath is meant as a gift from God. Sabbath is an oasis in a hectic world. It is more than rest from physical labor, it is time carved away from our stress-filled, worrisome and harried lives. Sabbath provides a place of refuge that gives God’s people time to find rest, renewal and delight. Sabbath is a time for self-reflection, thanksgiving and celebration. After God was finished with the work of creating, he stepped back and looked at all he had created and saw that it was good. At the end of the week, the Sabbath day is an opportunity for me to look back over the last six days and see all that was accomplished and celebrate what was good.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 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. Genesis 1:31-2:3

God the Creator of the universe stopped. He rested. God wants me to stop and rest also. When I stop to remember the Sabbath day, I reflect on the good work that was accomplished in the last week and celebrate that with God. I take delight in the fruits of my labor. When I stop to remember the Sabbath day, I recall all the blessings I received over the last week. I thank God for his goodness and delight in my life. God rested on the seventh day and “hallowed” it or made it holy.

Ask: How might I set aside a time of Sabbath in my own life? If it seems too difficult to practice Sabbath for an entire day, maybe I could begin with one half of a day or even a few hours?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, for six days you labored over the beauty of Creation and delighted in everything you made. You formed humankind out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into them. You stopped and rested and invite me to do the same. Teach me what it means to enjoy a weekly time of Sabbath with you. I read the words from Genesis again and listen for the message you have for me.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 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. Genesis 1:31-2:3

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

God wants to speak into my life about the practice of Sabbath keeping. For six days I work and labor and wrestle with life on earth, but on the seventh day I am invited to stop. To breathe. To rest. What would it look like to reorganize my life and carve out some Sabbath time? What obstacles would I encounter? I consider what I might lose if I made these changes and also what I might gain. Perhaps I could begin with a three to four hour time period after church on Sunday. Maybe I could turn off my phone, stop, rest and spend quality time with God and the people I love. Perhaps I could walk in nature, read a good book or take a nap. What is my dream of a Sabbath rest?

Pause and Pray

Blessed and holy Lord, come and reveal the secrets of a Sabbath life. Give me a vision of what a new rhythm might look like for my life. A pattern of living that promises to provide a regular source of renewal, refreshment, blessing and peace. Amen.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the LORD.” Exodus 31:12-13,15a

I leave this time of prayer with the peace of Christ reigning in my heart. I go to labor in love for the good of his kingdom.

Amen