Sabbath
Today’s Scripture Selection: Isaiah 58:13-14
It is wise counsel with a promise attached:
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s Day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words…”
If…then what?
“…then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
As a person of faith – who wouldn’t want that?
And yet, so often, we find other things to do than “honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
We have many reasons at hand to offer:
- There is just too much to get done in six little days
- It’s a chance to “catch up” on all those pesky household or work tasks
- We can get a “jump start” on the week
- We can get a little further “ahead” while the other guy or gal is just “wasting” time
On and on it goes.
But the Scripture holds out that simple principle – and that deep promise – honor God; honor God’s holy time – and you will “find your joy in the LORD” in a way that others cannot.
As a member of the clergy, I actually “work” on the Lord’s Day.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t try and find “Sabbath” time on a regular basis.
I need it. My family needs it. I even believe that my congregation needs me to keep it – so that I am rested and able to be a good pastor.
But, as good as those reasons are – the main reason I try to find Sabbath time is that God says I should.
And that is reason enough, don’t you think?
Prayer: Thank you Lord, for the blessing of the Sabbath. AMEN.
