Created in His image, it’s wise to take note that God rested. Sabbath, in Hebrew, literally means rest. Is there a more contrary view in our modern society? Even in our downtime, we log screen-time. We track our steps and calculate what we eat. We are standardize tested, vaccinated, found by friends, surveyed, marketed to and constantly polled and pulled in more directions than most of us are capable of handling. We’re busy! But the God of the universe says we have time to rest. In fact, we need rest to reach the full potential of purpose He has planned for our lives.
There are many books written and podcasts recorded about the challenge and art form of saying “No,” but nothing is more powerful than praying the truth of God’s word over our lives… and then actually doing what it says. Sabbath is no longer legalistic, for Christ came to break the chains of religious rule following. Rest is a way of life, a flow of the way God created us. His care and compassion for us made rest a part of who we are.
Sabbath is about making room for God in our lives. Taking time to put Him in the rightful position… first above all else. Because when everything else fails and fades away in this world, He will remain. He is good, and His plan for our lives is good. Who of us, Jesus says in Matthew, can add anything to our lives by toiling and worrying?
The God of Creation, who can stretch our minutes and heal us, restore peace and perform miracles beyond what we can ask for or imagine… tells us to rest. For it’s not by following rules we find peace, but by abiding in Christ. There’s a lot we can learn from Old Testament Scriptures. The story of Jesus permeates the entire Bible. Let’s pray for the proper perspective when reading all of Scripture, as it applies to our lives today. It’s alive and active. We can trust Him! Rest easy, here are twenty verses to help us find a little piece of peace in our lives.
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” ESV
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” ESV
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.”
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For the one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (ESV)
“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” (NIV)
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (ESV)
“Moses said, ‘Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the area. Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” (NET)
“Observe the Sabbath day, keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.” ESV
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
“It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.” NIV
“Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.” ESV
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” ESV
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (ESV)
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” ESV
“And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” ESV
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” ESV
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” ESV
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ESV
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” ESV
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ESV
Meg Bucher writes about everyday life within the love of Christ. She stepped out of her comfort zone, and her Marketing career, to obey God’s call to stay home and be “Mom” in 2011. From that step of obedience her blog, Sunny&80, was born, a way to retain the funny everyday moments of motherhood. Meg is also a freelance writer and author of “Friends with Everyone.” She loves teaching God’s Word and leading weekly Bible study, being a mom, distance running and photography. Meg resides in Northern Ohio with her husband, two daughters, and Godlen-Doodle … all avid Cleveland Browns fans.
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