Our Sabbath Rest
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.
”The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
You may be familiar with God’s command for us to “Be still and know that I am God!” In fact, you may have Psalm 46:10 framed on your wall, but I included the full psalm to remind us who issues the command. Be still; know God; and know that He is God!
Way back before the world changed last week, we were perpetually busy. If our days were not overscheduled we felt lazy. We filled our children’s lives with activities, which meant we filled the portions of our day intended for rest with sprints from event to event punctuated by hurried meals on the go. Even Sunday, the Christian day of rest, became scheduled with obligations, and for some, worship became another obligation on the list. But that was not God’s design. As with everything else, we humans have a knack for messing things up, and God has a way of allowing certain forms of evil at certain times to bend our will to His so that we might see His truth and the errors of our ways.
The virus that rapidly envelops the globe is evil. It is the result of the brokenness of our world, but God has all power and authority. He is sovereign. He could have rendered the current mutation ineffective or destroyed the virus altogether. But He has not done so yet, and we must ask why?
I have received emails, text messages and social media exchanges with many friends who now work from home and who have rapidly stopped all physical contact with the outside world. Many live in places with grocery, pharmacy and meal delivery allowing them to truly self-quarantine. So they are at home with no meetings to attend, no errands to run, no events demanding their sprint, no sports to watch. Suddenly they are able to sit back, take a deep breath, commune with loved ones, and reconnect with God. Isn’t it amazing how God takes evil and turns it to good? (see Genesis 50:20).
For years and years, generations perhaps, we have ignored the Sabbath. God is reminding us of the concept consecrated at creation – He set aside the seventh day, blessed it and deemed it holy (see Genesis 2:1-3). As part of the Ten Commandments, He told His people to “remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), and later He explained that the Sabbath was a special sign between His people and Himself because on the seventh day of creation God “rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17).
God gave the Sabbath to and for His people so that they might receive His rest and replenishment, and as a symbol of His relationship with them. It is a gift from God. His people receive the gift by observing it, and by doing so, they gain a weekly dose of God’s peace, rest, power, strength and sustenance. It is also a symbol to the world that they are connected to God.
Humans have been missing the point of the Sabbath for a long time. While we mess it up by ignoring it, in Jesus’ day leaders had converted rest and peace to regimented obligation. In fact, Jesus spent a lot of time explaining to the religious leaders of His day that the Sabbath had become so encumbered with rules it was, in many ways, the hardest day of the week. God’s people wanted to obey His commands, they wanted to keep the Sabbath, but rather than receiving rest and replenishment, the day involved careful orchestration and endless concern over whether each requirement had been satisfied. During one of His many conversations with religious leaders about the Sabbath, Jesus explained that the system of that era was misplaced saying, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
God designed the seventh day as a holy day, set aside so that His people might receive rest and replenishment. It is a day to commune with God, to refill our spirits and souls with exactly what they long for, a fresh dose of His holy Presence, renewed transformation and power and peace and rest.
As Jesus discusses this, He claims to be “lord even of the sabbath”? What does that mean? Jesus says,
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 10:28-30
Jesus said to them “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I give them will never be thirsty. The water that I give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
His teaching refers time and time and time again to rest and the replenishment available through Him. He offers His restoration to everyone who will receive it. He offers exactly what the Sabbath was designed and intended to provide. Through Christ Jesus, we have the opportunity to partake of His rest, to receive His replenishment now and forever. He is the Lord of the Sabbath because through Him we receive the gifts of the Sabbath today, tomorrow, every day, including each Sunday, and forever.
But we must receive it. If we want the benefits of communing with Christ Jesus we must commune with Him. If we want the benefits of His living water, we must drink it.
And now we have the time to do so. Embrace your newly discovered pace of life, the time you have with loved ones, and the time you now have to commune with God. Receive, embrace and enjoy His holy gift of Sabbath rest throughout this season. I pray that after this season ends, and I know it will, we each long for Sabbath rest such that we never again lose sight of it and we continue our habit of being still and knowing God and knowing that He is truly God. May God continue to shine His glory through you, Amen.