Finding Rest in God: Balancing Work and Sabbath
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 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, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
- Exodus 20:8-11
No matter what your biblical expertise is, you are probably familiar with today’s passage about honoring the Sabbath. To set the stage, God is giving Moses a list of commandments for His covenant people. But why does He include Sabbath rest in the list?
We live in a 24/7 culture of never-ending noise and busyness. Making space for Sabbath rest can seem unproductive and useless. You may think, “I don’t have time to waste resting.” But God not only insists on rest, but He also reminds us that this ‘rest day’ has purpose: this Sabbath day is to be “dedicated to the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:10).
A few years ago, after finishing a handful of triathlons, I decided it was time to take on a BIG goal; I signed up for my first Half Ironman triathlon. That is 70.3 miles of swimming, biking, and running. My goal was to finish strong. When I got my first glimpse of the training plan, I was shocked by the number of “rest days” built in. How could a DAY OFF prepare me for a strong finish? My coach explained that a rest day was not “a day off.” It was an intentional part of the plan to recharge and rebuild when I was worn down and depleted.
The same is true about God’s command for our Sabbath rest. He knows that we are systematically depleted, overworked, and desperately need to unplug, slow down our pace, and rest with Him. Eugene Peterson once said, “Sabbath is that uncluttered time and space in which we can distance ourselves from our own activities enough to see what God is doing.”
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Lord, forgive me for trying to control my “training plan” without building in rest days. You know what is best for me. Help me mark and create margin for “uncluttered time and space” to discover You in a deeper way.
ABOUT ROCKPOINTE CHURCH
RockPointe strives to provide a welcoming, family-friendly environment where people of all walks of life encounter the transforming power of a relationship with Jesus.
You will find RockPointe to be a place of imperfect, but genuine and authentic people seeking to glorify Jesus with their lives. Our hope is to point to the empowering grace of Jesus that transforms people to become impactful disciples for the kingdom of God.
The worship music is modern in style and highly gospel-centered in content. People are encouraged to passionately worship Jesus in “spirit and truth.” At RockPointe we value singing songs that are Christ-exalting and theologically rich.
We hold the Scriptures in high regard as the final authority in a person’s life. Messages at RockPointe are Christ-centered and will provide great insight as to what the Bible teaches about living your life for the glory of God. There is also a Family Room for parents to observe the services even while attending to their family needs.
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