Sabbath: So Much More…
It has been exactly 18 weeks and 2 days since I arrived on the international field for my World Race journey. A large part of my time has been spent learning and pushing into what sabbath really is and what God has been revealing to me about His intentions for me in sabbath. I love sabbath and our day of sabbath each week has become such an exciting and beautiful day for me. So I would just like to share some of what my amazing Father has shown me about what he intended sabbath to be and why it is so important.
To begin, I would like to share what I initially believed about sabbath before launching on the race and practicing it weekly.
Sabbath to me had always been a time of rest that was talked about in passing and in the past tense. It was always something the Jews in the Bible did, but that wasn’t really practiced commonly or as committedly as they did back then. I also think it’s important to share that I thought of it as this strict concept, where when you sabbath you have to spend time reading the Bible and talking to God. That there was some kind of rule or law to how it had to be done.
Now how has this changed for me over the last 18 plus weeks?
To begin, at launch for the World Race, we were told it would be one of our squad norms to have sabbath once a week. This would be a day we would not be doing ministry and a day of rest. I at first wasn’t sure what this would look like because a whole day of having to be in the word and talking to God seemed like a lot and it seemed scary. I thought, I commune with God everyday, why do I need a full day?
But He really spoke into His desire for me to spend a day with Him each week because it was about more than book knowledge and even more than talking with Him. It was about His love for me and reminding me of whose I am. He taught me it is about resting in the presence of His love that is given completely freely. We don’t work during this day, but it doesn’t change His love for us. He is still pleased because we are His. This is the point of Sabbath He showed me.
Sabbath now is a day I get to sit with the Lord and just listen to Him, take a nap, play some games with my friends, read and learn more about who He is (which is always my favorite because He is incredible), and not worry about any set schedule or standards because I believe He loves me first before I’ve even earned it.
One of the resources He spoke through I could share about all day, but I would love to share it with you guys and allow you to go on your own journey with Father. Allow Him to speak into you what His intentions are for sabbath in your life.
This resource is called BEMA Discipleship Podcasts. It’s on Apple Podcast and is free. Check out Season 1, Episode 1 to learn more about Sabbath from their perspective. The Lord really revealed a lot to me through these guys.
What is Father teaching you about sabbath? I would love to read in the comments below how He is loving you through Sabbath.
I hope you all are doing well and continuing to learn more and more about How amazing our God is.
