Eric Ebbinghaus and I have been having this back and forth conversation about the Sabbath. He’s currently doing a youth series on the topic and I’m starting one in April. In previous posts(1 and 2), I’ve discussed the “rest side” of the issue, but now I want to look at the other side. This was all prompted by something I heard a pastor say on TV the other day. “Ladies, the Bible says to work 6 days and rest on the 7th, but if the man you’re seeing is too lazy to get off the couch and get a job then you need to send him packing because he is a LOSER.” It was Valentine’s Day message on the type of man a single woman should be looking for. What caught my attention was the “work 6 days” part. Here’s what Genesis 2:2-3(NIV) says:
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Two things I see. First, God had been working hard and secondly, He had finished His work. He clarified His position in Exodus 20: 8-11(NIV):
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 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.
“Labor and do all your work…” God spent that first Sabbath enjoying a tremendous sense of accomplishment at what He had created. When the next week rolled around He wasn’t worried about what He put off doing the week before. He was ready for new challenges, tasks, and adventure. It seems to me that procrastination wasn’t part of the equation until after the Fall. It seems to me that we can’t fully enjoy the Sabbath until we’ve given ourselves fully to our work. Why aren’t we giving ourselves fully to our work?
- Lack of Focus/Distractions
- Procrastination
- Laziness
- Lack of Passion
- Health Issues/Fatigue
- Unrealistic Expectations placed on us that discourage our effort
- Family Issues
- Depression
What did I leave out? What are you struggling with? My prayer is that all of us would be passionate and focused about what we have been created to do. That’s what chasing your lion is all about. God was the inventor of Work Hard, Play Hard. Over the next few weeks, I’ll break down these issues and find solutions to get us all on the right track. Thanks for reading.
Sabbath Resources:
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Finding Your Maximum Happiness A Study of the Ten Commandments
By Wilbur G. Williams Maximum happiness! That’s the subject of this study. How does one get it? After one gets it, how is it kept? If one has it and lost it, how is it regained? These are questions we will try to answer. Basically everyone wants happiness out of life. God wants everyone to be happy. Then why are so many lacking in this area? One might expect poor people – who have little of this world’s goods – not to have it, yet many of them do. One might expect people who have everything money can buy to possess happiness but many of them don’t. To study how God planned for us to obtain happiness, let us first ask, on what does true happiness depend? In brief, maximum happiness depends most heavily on one thing: relationship. It is the by product of that and that alone. In the focus of this book, it is a law guided relationship based on a covenant made with God first and foremost. There is a sense in which we never “find” happiness by seeking it. But by seeking God, happiness finds us. |
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Sabbath: The Ancient Practices
By Dan Allender Does resting on the Sabbath mean to cease all activity? In his new book Dan Allender presents an insightful and fascinating look at the origins and purpose of the Sabbath day. Serving as volume three in The Ancient Practices Series, Sabbath examines the key issues of this oft-misunderstood day of the week. This “day of delight,” as instituted by God, has become a dirge for millions of believers. For many, it is simply a break from the busyness of the work week. So, what keeps us from properly understanding, sanctifying and celebrating this important day? Allender looks at not only the history of this discipline, going all the way back to ancient Israel, but also at the modern manifestations and misunderstandings of its practice. Drawing upon the Hebrew word Menuha, Allender bases his premise upon the forgotten definition for this word (best translated as joyous repose, tranquility, or delight) and what it truly means to rest. |
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The Year of Living Like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do
By Ed Dobson Pastor Dobson chronicles his year of “walking in Jesus’ sandals.” He eats what Jesus ate. Prays as Jesus prayed. Observes the Sabbath, attends Jewish festivals, and reads the Gospels every week. It’s a journey that takes him into bars, inspires him to pick up hitchhikers, deepens his understanding of suffering—and changes his life forever! 304 pages, hardcover from Zondervan. |
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Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity
By Keri Wyatt Kent In today’s fast-paced society, we’ve forgotten an essential truth . . . that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Inviting you to find a balance between work and refreshment, Kent explores six aspects of this Christian spiritual practice—resting, reconnecting, revising, pausing, playing, and praying—to help you experience renewed energy, grace, and joy. 224 pages, softcover from Zondervan. |
I appreciate the books you include at the end of your posts. I have found myself frustrated, disheartened, and perplexed with my new found difficulty to keep the sabbath. I have evolved from my views of it being a day of restriction as I’ve been taught to one of reflecting and rejoicing however the lack of peace in my home and the damands of my weekdays have made keeping the sabbath a burden in of itself. I thank you for identifying through your interpretation of why the Sabbath was rewarding th God and what has potentially brought us from observing the day as it should be, afterall it was created for us. I hope you continue to posts your revelations. Thank you.
Thanks for the kind words. I love hearing stories like yours. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help. God Bless.