Sip Saturday

Week #61 Hebrews 4:10

**Sip Saturday is written by our Saturday morning contributor, M.H. Elrich. A beautifully gifted Christian author who seeks to honor the Trinity in her writing. She hopes that her words will encourage women to draw closer to God, whether that is through her fantasy series or her weekly devotionals.

Cornerstone Scripture:

“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

-Hebrews 4:10 KJV

I know someone who is ultra vigilant about the Sabbath. She won’t fly. She won’t drive. She won’t even frequent restaurants. To her, the day of rest is meant for exactly that–rest.

Although I don’t take as extreme a view, her teachings about resting at least once a week from my labor hit home. At the time, I was working as a teacher and going to school, so catching up on work Sunday night was a regular occurrence. I “needed” the extra time that I “didn’t” have before. After feeling convicted by her words, I decided to adjust my schedule. It was not easy. I had to do twice as much work the night before, and sometimes I would stay up until 10 PM to finish everything. Yet, I immediately relished the results.

On Sunday, I would attend church and then have the rest of the day off to do whatever I would like. At first, it was downright strange. I wanted to do all the things I couldn’t do on other days, like folding laundry and dishes. It was hard to resist the pile of laundry or dishes so that I could rest. Yet, when I did, it was so much better. The rest of the week I had energy to tackle all my to-do’s, including household chores. Even my physical health would suffer if I didn’t take one day off to really rest.

In this passage, the author of Hebrews is referring to how God rested from his labors after creating the universe. If you consider everything that God did, from making the smallest bug to the largest sun, it makes sense that he would desire rest. Jesus, too, would rest by retreating to the wilderness to pray (Luke 5:15-16). Then, when he died, he declared that it was finished (John 19:30). Jesus then entered God’s eternal rest.

Sabbath rest is Biblical. Not only is it an Old Testament command (Exodus 20:8), it is obvious from this passage and others that resting from our labors once a week is God ordained. Does this mean that keeping the Sabbath is something required? There are various views on this topic, with some arguing that it should be kept, some saying it is Saturday over Sunday, and some saying that the Sabbath doesn’t need to be kept because of freedom from the law.

I am not qualified to choose a side in the debate, but I will say that there has to be a reason for Sabbath rest, as there is for other Old Testament laws. That reason, in my opinion, is that our bodies and minds need a reset. Just as study after study has shown that sleep is good for us, I think resting our whole beings once a week is also similar. If you are not so sure, I would challenge you to try it if you are able. Take some time to draw near to the Lord in worship and quiet. Put aside the pile of to-do’s to commune with God. Use that one day to truly rest in whatever way is restful to you—whether that is reading a book, taking a bubble bath, playing games, knitting etc. I think you’ll find that by engaging in Sabbath rest, you will be more energized to face whatever God has for you the remainder of the week.

Let’s pray.

Dear Lord, please help me to find time to rest at least once a week from my labors. Help me to draw near to you during that time and realize you are the true source of all rest. In Your Son’s Name, Amen

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