Category: Sabbath

Hungry and Tired 

Over the years of raising kids, I learned they usually got grumpy for two reasons: needing food and needing rest. One of my sons would transform from a good-natured, happy kid to a foul and angry “devil child” when he was hungry. (Later we learned the word “hangry,” which described his demeanor perfectly at those times.) I wonder if this is how the Israelites may have been feeling as they trudged through the desert those first three days. It’s tempting to criticize them for being so quick to spiral into negativity after the Lord delivered them from Egypt, but I wonder if we’d be any different in their position.

After complaining to Moses and Aaron, the Israelites experience God’s incredible power again as He sends quail in the evening and then begins giving them manna to collect each morning. The food He provides comes with some clear guidelines. Moses instructs them to gather enough for each person to eat the same day. The only exception to this is on the day before the Sabbath, when the Lord tells them to collect a double portion. Moses explains: “Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.’ So the people rested on the seventh day.” (Exodus 16:29-30, NIV)

These simple commands highlight the Lord’s provision for two needs basic to all people: food and rest. Beyond physical replenishment and sustenance, the Lord also meets these same needs on a spiritual level.

God’s provision in the wilderness saved the Jews from physical death during their 40 years of wandering (Exodus 16:35). Similarly, the Father’s provision through Jesus saved us from spiritual death, meeting our greatest need for forgiveness of our sins. Through Christ, the Lord made a way for us to have a restored relationship with Him now and for eternity. (Colossians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21; John 20:31). 

The Lord’s Prayer uses bread as a symbol of God’s provision: “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11, NIV) This is profound when we consider Jesus’ words in the book of John: “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:47-51, NIV)
 
Those listening to Jesus’ teaching would have noted the significance of asking for bread by remembering the Father’s provision for His people in Exodus. There’s one key word in the Lord’s Prayer we can’t overlook: “daily.” Just as our bodies were made to need sustenance from food every day, our hearts were made to need daily connection with God. Everything we have, including our ability to earn a living, ultimately comes from Him. Asking the Lord to meet our needs daily keeps us humble, but also enables us to grow in our connection to Him and our dependence upon Him. 

One commentary explains, “Yes, God sustains us physically and meets the less tangible needs of this life. More than that, He fulfills our spiritual needs. He is the bread that satisfies our spiritual hunger. He sustains our hearts. When we ask God for our daily bread, we are humbly acknowledging Him as the sole giver of all we need. We are living day by day, one step at a time. We are exercising simple faith in Him to provide just what we need, when we need it – for every area of life.”
 
The Lord’s commandment for the Israelites to gather a double portion of manna on the sixth day to allow rest on the Sabbath also has significance for us. Times have changed, but the need to rejuvenate our bodies, minds, and souls remains the same. There are many reasons to observe the Sabbath, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll touch on two highlighted by respected author, pastor and teacher Timothy Keller.

Sabbath Reminds Us We’ve Been Liberated from Enslavement
God told the Israelites: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you” (Deuteronomy 15:15, NIV). When we fail to take a Sabbath rest, we are allowing ourselves to be enslaved to the tasks we’re compelled to accomplish. This could be a job, but it could also be any form of busyness that we do without ceasing. If we have the need to be productive constantly, something is out of balance and we are letting those activities enslave us. Sabbath rest reminds us that our work and our accomplishments don’t define us, our relationship with Christ does. He liberated us from enslavement to sin and freed us from needing to find our sense of worth in anything other than Him.

Sabbath Reminds us to Trust God
Being productive makes us feel powerful and in control. It can also make us have a misplaced idea that we are indispensable. The world won’t stop spinning on its axis and the sun won’t forget to rise if we take a day to rest. That’s why the Psalm says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 NASB) When we pause from the acts of achieving and accomplishing, we’re reminded that it’s God who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). We can rest because He is trustworthy. Everything doesn’t depend on us; taking a Sabbath is an act of humility that acknowledges this.

Few people would disagree with the idea that we are over-stimulated and under-rested in our society today. But how should we spend our time when we downshift one day a week to let our souls catch up with us? Tim Keller suggests three ways to observe the Sabbath:

1) Enjoy an activity that is outside your usual daily routine/ occupation. Do something that re-charges and rejuvenates you. Don’t use the Sabbath to accomplish tasks on your to do list.
2) Make time for contemplation. This means taking your eyes off yourself and putting them on God. Start by attending a worship service. Add to it by spending time in prayer or reading Scripture. Set aside specific time to give the Lord the honor and praise He deserves.
3) Make time for inactivity. Let your brain and body rest. Give God room to speak to you by clearing your mind. For highly productive and capable people, doing nothing is often the one thing they struggle with most. (If this makes you twitchy, know that I’m right there with you.)

Johnny Diaz’s song “Breathe” beautifully captures the importance of rest. If you don’t think you have time to watch the video, then you need to click here right now!

Inspired by Timothy Keller’s sermon “Work and Rest” and Jen Wilkin’s God of Deliverance: A Study of Exodus 1-18, Lifeway Press, 2021.

Commentary quotation from https://www.gotquestions.org/daily-bread.html

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The GOAT Part 9: Worry

A few years ago, my son started describing me as a “stressy” person. He’s always had a knack for making observations that are both funny and piercingly accurate. It’s true: I’m prone to worry and I like being in control. Ironically, I’ve written twenty-seven blogs about anxiety and fourteen about fear in the last several years. So, it’s not like I haven’t studied this topic in the Bible—I just have a hard time applying it to my daily life. Does anyone else relate?

As we continue our journey through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I was treading a familiar path when I came to this portion:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 3If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34, NIV)

This passage reassures and reminds us that we don’t need to worry because the Lord will meet all our needs. That said, it’s challenging to live like we believe it’s true. So, when I discovered a sermon by pastor John Mark Comer called “Becoming a Non-Anxious Presence,” I wanted to share his practical, biblical wisdom with you.

Comer examines five key practices that create a sense of peace within us that affects those around us. After reading all five, consider exploring them further by clicking the links on each topic.

1. Slowing: Jesus’ pace of life was unhurried. He allowed plenty of margin for interruptions and used them as opportunities to bless and minister to others. The frantic pace of our lives is a significant factor contributing to our high levels of anxiety today. If packing your schedule and rushing from one thing to the next is your normal way of functioning, this may be making you anxious and creating a ripple effect on those around you. To read more on this topic, check out this post on the benefits of slowing down: Frenzy is Not Your Friend 

2. Sabbath Rest: Jesus had a regular rhythm of retreating from people to pray and rest and then returning to connect and serve. Luke’s gospel tells us He often withdrew to lonely places to be rejuvenated spending time with His Father (Luke 5:16). Comer explains that how well we rest determines how well we work. Taking time to stop, reconnect with the Father, and re-charge our souls is crucial for keeping anxiety at bay. To learn more about the importance of Sabbath rest, check out my blog “Under-Sabbathed.” 

3. Koininia: This Greek word describes a relational bond between people who are kindred spirits. It’s fellowship and community centered around pursuing Jesus together. We need deep, honest, authentic friendships rooted in Christ. Making time regularly to study God’s Word, pray, serve, and share life with others is an important element for maintaining a sense of peace and well-being. To read more about the importance of koininia, check out my post “Knit Together.”

4. Contemplative Prayer: Resting in the Father’s love and relaxing into His goodness help us to realign with what really matters. Prayer is about experiencing the presence of God. Going beyond learning about Him or hearing others talk about Him, it connects us to Him personally. Time with the Lord also grounds us so we become less overwhelmed, less reactive, and more thoughtful when we jump back into the fray. We engage people and situations with a different perspective after spending time in prayer. Want to learn more? Check out my post “Why Prayer Matters.” 

5. Indifference/ Freedom: There’s little in this life we can truly control. (Sorry, I know that isn’t a fun reminder.)  When we yield to God and trust Him with our lives, we experience the freedom to stop trying to force people and events to meet our expectations. Following Jesus and seeking Him first allows us to discover joy and peace that aren’t dependent upon circumstances going according to plan. We become indifferent to the outcomes of situations not because we don’t care, but because we know God is sovereign and trustworthy. This doesn’t guarantee a perfect or easy life, but it reassures us of the Lord’s presence and reminds us that He works all things for good according to His purposes, not ours (John 16:33 and Romans 8:28). Want to learn more? Check out my post “Stopping the Spiral of Anxiety.” 

I wish I could say I’ve mastered the art of being a non-anxious presence, but I’m a work in progress. Two of the five practices come easily for me. The others are a challenge. What about you? Will you join me in asking the Lord to help you grow where you need it? We may never achieve it fully on this side of heaven, but every day is another chance to ask the Holy Spirit to help us move forward on the journey of corralling our anxious thoughts and trusting Jesus instead.

Comer points out that when fear and anxiety are running our lives, love is repressed. Not being anxious improves our sense of well-being and allows us to express God’s love and grace to others more freely. And isn’t that what our world desperately needs right now?

The key to beating worry is seeking God’s kingdom first. Let Lauren Daigle’s song “First” reinforce this powerful truth. Click here to watch.

Content for this post came from John Mark Comer’s sermon “Becoming a Non-Anxious Presence.” Click here to watch.

You may also want to check out John Mark Comer’s fantastic book: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

Post inspired by the GOAT sermon series at CPC Danville. www.cpcdanville.org.

Stopping the Spiral with Silence

Shooting across the boat’s wake, my waterski accelerated faster than expected. Instead of slowing down to turn around the buoy on the slalom course, I found myself catapulting headfirst into the water. Resurfacing, I swam toward the boat, feeling a bit shaken by the crash. Over the days that followed, I felt “off” but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. Lights and sounds seemed magnified and jarring. Multi-step tasks felt confusing and difficult. I was easily irritated and upset by things that normally didn’t bother me. Looking up my symptoms online I finally realized the truth: I had a concussion.

After a visit to the doctor, I cut back on my responsibilities and limited my time in places with lots of stimuli. Going to the grocery store was too much for me. I stopped listening to music and ceased multitasking. I had to monitor time spent watching TV or working on the computer or I’d become agitated and overwhelmed. I spent significant time daily lying down in a quiet, darkened room letting my brain rest and heal. 

Because I’d ignored the warning signs from my body during the first few days after my fall, I hadn’t given my brain quiet time to rest and recover. Bombarding it with constant inputs early on slowed the healing process, causing much of my life to be put on hold for two months.

I thought of that strange season as I considered the second weapon to fight negative spirals in our minds. In case you missed last week’s post, I’ve been working through Jennie Allen’s Get Out of Your Head: A Study in Philippians. The book identifies the primary enemies of our minds and the weapons God gives us to fight them. It’s been powerful using these tools to stop my downward spirals and toxic thoughts before they go too far. 

My last post covered the first enemy of our minds: self-importance. We learned that humility is the weapon God gives us to fight against it. The second enemy of our minds highlighted in the book is noise. Not surprisingly, the weapon to fight against it is silence. Take a moment and consider all of the inputs you receive on a given day: texts, e-mails, phone calls, social media posts, podcasts, TV, radio, news, magazines, and books. I haven’t even mentioned face-to-face conversations, meetings in person or on Zoom, interactions with cashiers, fellow customers, or restaurant servers. And what about the junk mail, phone messages, bills, and solicitations you process daily? Just writing the list makes me feel overwhelmed. No doubt, the number of inputs entering our minds on any given day is staggering. There’s a lot of noise bouncing around in our brains.

Most of us have grown so accustomed to the constant barrage of information demanding our attention, we don’t realize how deeply we’re being affected by it. Jennie Allen explains, “Recognizing our spirals and naming them is the first step in interrupting them. That’s why the enemy wants to fill our lives and our heads and hearts with noise. Because silence with God is the beginning of every victory. Stillness, solitude in the presence of God, is the basis of our strategy for interrupting all kinds of problematic thought patterns…In silence we get to rewrite that pattern while taking back the power He has given us.”

I think all of us could benefit from being more cognizant of the number of inputs we receive daily. We need time to step away from the noise and give our minds and souls a rest. One of my favorite verses reinforces this idea, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV ’84)

We consume and process an endless supply of information. And these constant inputs make us weary and often leave us feeling inadequate, overwhelmed, and anxious. But when we take time to draw near to the Lord, we allow Him to silence the noise in our heads that distracts us from Him. Letting Him quiet our spirits gives our minds rest and reminds us of His sovereignty over all things.

In fact, God spoke directly to His people about this very thing through the prophet Isaiah. He chastised them for rejecting His wisdom: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah, 30:15, NIV ’84) This passage explains that the path to salvation and strength is paved with repentance, rest, quietness, and trust. It also highlights how people often choose to ignore this truth. Sounds a lot like our culture today.

Jennie Allen suggests, “When you’re stuck in a downward spiral of discontent and distraction, get quiet. What truth will you shift your thoughts toward, in order to combat the lie that anything else can satisfy you like spending time with God?”

I love how David’s words highlight the first two weapons we’ve considered: 

“Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Psalm 131:1-2, NLT) Humility and quiet stop negative spirals and lead us to peace and contentment.

Fight the constant noise in your life by pulling away for a few moments with the Lord. Monitor your inputs to stop the negative spirals that threaten to pull you downward. Let God realign your thoughts with the truth of His Word as you spend quiet time with Him. 

For some tips on good Scriptures to read as you spend quiet time with God, check out my recent post “Rise to Rest” by clicking here.

Jennie Allen, Get Out of Your Head: A Study in Philippians, Thomas Nelson Press, 2020, 62-63, 64

Under-Sabbathed

I’ve lived my entire life in busy metropolitan areas teeming with opportunities. My husband and I have raised our kids in a community where youth sports and extracurricular activities dominate the calendar seven days a week. For the most part, stores and restaurants are open every day too. And because of the internet, we have twenty-four-hour access to virtually everything we want or need. Life never shuts down unless we choose to remove ourselves from the normal flow of activities.

So, imagine our surprise when our son started college in another part of the country where Sundays actually look a little different from the rest of the week. The first time we visited, we were thrown off by the number of restaurants and local businesses that were closed all day. The town felt quiet and sleepy—and something about it was just so incredibly restful.

Recently I’ve been studying the account of creation described in Genesis 1 & 2. For six days God labored as He created things like light, land, stars, plants, sea creatures, animals and human beings. And at the end of each day of creation, Scripture tells us, “God saw that it was good.” This repetition continues until the seventh day: “God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3, NIV).

Other passages in Scripture tell us that God doesn’t slumber or sleep (Psalm 121) and that He will not grow tired or weary (Isaiah 40:28). So why did He rest? It wasn’t because He was tired, but because His work was complete and He saw that “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Later in Scripture, after sin enters the world and God’s people have been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, He delivers them under the leadership of Moses. The Lord gives them the Ten Commandments to instruct them how to relate with Him and with one another. His fourth commandment to them is this:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God… 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” (Exodus 20:8,9,11, NIV).

Is this an archaic commandment that no longer applies to us today? Was it abolished when Jesus fulfilled the law later in the New Testament? The simple answer is “no.” Times have changed, but the need for deep rest for our bodies, minds, and souls remains the same. There are many reasons to observe the Sabbath, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll touch on two highlighted by respected author, pastor and teacher Timothy Keller.

Keeping the Sabbath Reminds Us We’ve Been Liberated from Enslavement
God told the Israelites: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you” (Deuteronomy 15:15, NIV). When we fail to take a Sabbath rest, we are allowing ourselves to be enslaved to the tasks we’re compelled to accomplish. This could be a job, but it could also be any form of busyness that we do without ceasing. If we have the need to be productive constantly, something is out of balance and we are letting those activities enslave us.

Sabbath rest reminds us that our work and our accomplishments don’t define us, our relationship with Christ does. He liberated us from enslavement to sin and freed us from needing to find our sense of worth in anything other than Him. Observing the Sabbath helps us to put things back into perspective. It’s meant to remind us we’re free.

Keeping the Sabbath Reminds us to Trust God
Being productive makes us feel powerful and in control. It can also make us have a misplaced idea that we are indispensable. As much as it feels like it, everything doesn’t rest on our shoulders. The world won’t stop spinning on its axis and the sun won’t forget to rise if we take a day to rest. That’s why the Psalm says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 NASB) When we pause from the acts of achieving and accomplishing, we’re reminded that it’s God who holds all things together. We labor and strive in meaningful endeavors He’s given us, but ultimately it is the Lord who provides for us. We can rest because He is trustworthy. Everything doesn’t depend on us and taking a Sabbath is an act of humility that acknowledges this.

Few people would disagree with the idea that we are over-stimulated and under-sabbathed in our society today. But how should we spend our time when we change gears and downshift one day a week to let our souls catch up with us? Tim Keller suggests three things to devote ourselves to when we take a Sabbath day.

1) Enjoy an activity that is outside your usual daily routine/ occupation. Do something that re-charges and rejuvenates you. Don’t use the Sabbath to accomplish tasks on your to do list.
2) Make time for contemplation. This means taking your eyes off yourself and putting them on God. Start by attending a worship service. Add to it by spending time in prayer or reading Scripture. Set aside specific time to give the Lord the honor and praise He deserves.
3) Make time for inactivity. Let your brain and body rest. Give God room to speak to you by clearing your mind. For highly productive and capable people, doing nothing is often the one thing they struggle with most. (If this makes you squirm, know that I’m right there with you. Even writing these words is painful for me.)

Johnny Diaz’s song “Breathe” beautifully captures the importance of rest. If you don’t think you have time to watch the video, then you need to click on it right now!

Inspired by Timothy Keller’s sermon “Work and Rest” and
Jen Wilkin’s God of Creation, Week 3, Lifeway Press  2017.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com