SCRIPTURE:
It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls;
Leviticus 23:32
OBSERVATION:
Every so often someone will ask me, “what fills your tank?” My response is always the same. It starts with a pause and a look of confusion. You see besides time with family and friends, I feel the expectation in their question is for me to give them something I enjoy doing that has nothing to do with my normal set of actions. But, in reality, my normal set of actions, activities and tasks are what really fill my tank. Then the questions lead to, “so what do you do to just rest?” Same response…pause and confusion. Rest is for the weak and those who don’t plan and train well.
There have been so many eloquent encouragements on why the Sabbath and rest in general are important. I believe every single one of them. I just don’t always follow them, in fact, I rarely ever follow them. But here, in the midst of all the do’s and don’ts, how’s and why’s of Leviticus, God reminds me yet again on how crucial this act of obedience is to success and humility. The Sabbath is much more than just a day of rest for a weary body and mind. It’s more than putting the phone away and resisting replying to texts or emails. It’s more than lounging at the beach or sipping a Pomegranate Blueberry Iced Tea at Coffee Bean reading a book. It’s more than Disney +’ing the latest Marvel offering or listening to Kalapana.
APPLICATION:
The Sabbath is an opportunity for me to simply sit down and be humble. By breaking the Sabbath, I’m not just harming my wholeness, I’m putting myself before my King, taking pride in my output rather than allowing Him to input into my life.
I need to imprint the value of sabbath onto my heart, but how? That remains the question. Practically it means keeping the main thing the main thing. I like darkly drawn lines of direction. It’s either this way or that way, but as I form my ideal Sabbath to move into a place of humility and rest I can’t worry about the specifics of it all, but instead observe the outcomes. Example: am I tired? Is my pride in check? How do I gauge my tiredness?
- Tired men make mistakes
- My Mood
- My Level of Graciousness
How do I gauge humility?
- Fruitfulness: is my family and ministry bearing good fruit.
- Favor: is the hand of God moving in my life.
- Freedom: from my frustrations, outburst of anger, vengeance.
Taking a Sabbath is not weak, it’s strong beyond measure. It means that I hold Jesus as more important than “getting it done”. It means that I put His plans before my agendas. And it means that humility is more important to me than productivity.
PRAYER:
Jesus, I humble myself to sit at Your feet. Open my ears to listen, my heart to commit and my mind to obey. Thank You for Your grace upon grace, Your patience and Your unending kindness. Amen
