It is Sunday. It is a day of rest for many of us. But so much has changed. Previously, this would have been a time to prepare to gather for community worship. We would get our hearts and minds ready to be a part of something larger than ourselves. There would be singing, prayers, and joyful exchanges of love. Most of all, there would be praise to God that had brought us so far. But that gathering has changed, at least for now.
When the music is different and the scenery becomes our home, do we still find the rhythm of worship and rest? Do we still make the time to offer our gratitude to God and an offering of praise? Do we still remember that this day is made holy and in this holiness is rest? Or does this simply become another day of the week? Do we allow the Sabbath to lose its importance because our world has changed?
When I consider when God gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments, I think of the ultimate upheaval in a world. They had left their homes. They had left their previous lives. They had run just to be chased. Now their surroundings include wilderness. And those surroundings had to be frightening and insecure. This cannot be what they bargained for. This isn’t what they signed up to see. God’s presence was obvious but scary. They couldn’t seem to get it together. And it was in this time that God tells them that the Sabbath day is holy. He even makes sure that they have enough food to make it so they do not have to go and gather on this holy day. It is special. It is sacred. It is to be treated differently. In the middle of the madness, this is a place to rest. This is a time to find peace. This is a time set aside for God and for a different rhythm. This is Sabbath.
How are you treating your Sabbath in the middle of the madness? How sacred is this day to you? What are you doing differently on this day of rest that reminds you that God has you taken care of and you can simply breathe? How are you honoring the Creator on this beautiful day? May we find worship and rest.
Focus Scripture:
Exodus 20:8-11
8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 