Fall can be a busy time of year! Focusing on Lord of the Sabbath is a great reminder to slow down with a still spirit, rest in Him, and seek to draw near our Savior.
After a hectic summer, I was ready to slide back into a comfortable, predictable routine with my family. As you may know, I’m a homeschool mom. My youngest daughter is my only student, now that her sisters have grown and graduated. Creating structured and scheduled days for the two of us sounded so sweet during the unorganized, fun-chaos of summer!
But then reality hit. Yes, our Fall days are now structured and scheduled, but, boy, are our weeks busy! This year my middle schooler has multiple classes and activities outside the home, which means I’m doing more chauffeuring, and I’ve taken on more roles in ministry work and at church, and well… someone still has to clean the house.
Ya feel me?
Sometimes, we ladies need to prayerfully evaluate things to see if God leads us to lighten our schedules.
But sometimes, there isn’t much we can do. Sometimes, we’re in a busy season. And that’s that… because that’s where God has us right now.
How do we stay faithful and sane in the middle of it, though? How does a busy women who feels “go-go-go” on the outside remain rested on the inside?
I think the key is finding rest in the Lord of the Sabbath.
By focusing on Him and trusting in His character, I can find the strength to sustain me if I peacefully walk, step by step, with my Savior. Like Peter, walking on water, if I look at the wind and the waves around me, I start to feel overwhelmed and I know I’ll sink.
But Sabbath rest is about more than finding peace during a busy season. And it’s certainly about more than my response (although my response is important).
Quieting my soul in His presence and drawing near Him sustains me because He sustains me. Sabbath is about Him.
In Mark 2:23-28, Jesus walked through grainfields on the Sabbath day and shocked the religious leaders when He broke the “rules” and allowed His followers to pluck and eat grain. Jesus’ response was that He was greater than the rules. After all, as one person of the triune God, it was He who made and gave the Sabbath to mankind. And now He’d come to give them Himself. And while “the salvation we have in Christ has made the old law of the Sabbath no longer needed or binding” the Sabbath continually points to Him.
Throughout the Bible, not only in the New Testament, Sabbath rest points hearts to God! Sabbath reveals His character and attributes in myriad ways. Through it God shows:
- He’s a God of provision.
- He loves us enough to give us good gifts.
- Our health is important to Him.
- He desires our obedience.
- He’s a promise-keeping God.
- And also through the Sabbath, He shares glimpses of things to come.
We hope you’ll join us all this month as we learn more about the Sabbath and what it teaches us about God. I pray that together, we’ll seek to draw near the Lord of the Sabbath!
Resting in Him,
Ali
I’m looking forward to this study, Ali, because, well, don’t we all need to learn more about God’s character? Learning it through His sabbath rest is going to be exciting!
I’m glad you’re excited, too, Dianna! I agree– an exciting to learn more about Him and about His sabbath rest!
Jesus didn’t break the Father’s law, but He broke the added rules the Pharisees had heaped on to the law over the years. It’s so easy to fall into the same trap: to be careful in certain areas, we draw the line waaaay over here just to be safe. But then we burden ourselves and judge others in areas God never meant for us to. I’m so thankful that “his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3), and He kept them perfectly in our place since we never could.
Yes – there were so many added “rules.” I think you are exactly right, Barbara — it’s easy for us to do the same and become legalistic. So thankful for Jesus and His perfection! It’s in that we can rest, isn’t it?