Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
We live in a day and age where being busy means being blessed—that's how people interpret it. If you've got a full calendar, then you are blessed. Now in this verse, the word "blessed" means to be deeply happy. If you and I want to be happy, God gives us this command—and it is to rest. Whenever God gives us a command, remember He does it for our good. He's inviting us into deeper intimacy with Him.
What Is a Sabbath Day?
In this specific command He says, "Blessed are those who honor My Sabbath days of rest." What is a Sabbath day? Sabbath is a stopping day. That's when the Israelites stopped what they were doing. It was a day where they worshiped God and acknowledged that their help comes from the Lord. When you and I rest from something—whether it's our hobbies or our job—when we take that day off, here's the message we're sending: Lord, my identity is not in my job. It's not in my hobbies. It's not in how much I have. My identity is in You, and I'm acknowledging that everything I have comes from You.
You can look at a command like this and say, you're just being legalistic. Take the Sabbath, here's another command you have to follow. But this command is designed to lead us into a deeper, intimate relationship with the Lord. We can take the Sabbath and compare ourselves to people and say, well, I take my Sabbath, so I'm better than so-and-so—or we can rest and know that when we do this, the posture is me connecting with the Lord and acknowledging, Lord, everything that I have comes from You.
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
The temptation is to give ourselves credit. We like to think, I went to school, I got into this program, I am where I am because of my skill set. Are you really? Because at the end of the day, we are where we are because of the grace of God. There are people who have gone to school and haven't gotten what they worked for. Sometimes I look at my life and think, I don't deserve to be where I'm at. There are people way smarter than me. I have to say, Lord, You placed me in this position. What that does is it humbles me. You and I need to learn to give credit where credit is due. We are not as awesome as we think we are. We have what we have because God has given it to us.
If You Can't Rest from It, It's Your Idol
We need to take time to rest. That stopping day throughout the week is where we say, I'm going to rest from this. Because if you can't rest from it—whatever that "it" is—then that "it" is your idol. Can you rest from it? If you can't, it still has a strong hold on you. Remember, the Sabbath is for our good. It's for us to connect with the Lord and to acknowledge, Lord, everything that we have flows from You.
