SABBATH AS A GIFT

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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What area of life do you need an extra measure of self-control? Do you struggle with choosing the right foods to eat, the right amount of sleep to get each night, or whether or not to exercise enough to improve your health? Maybe you need extra self-control in every area of life. 

What we find in the third commandment points us toward a gift of self-control provided by our creator. In the third commandment, the Lord calls us to seek a weekly day of rest and refocus. A day that allows us to care for our own needs and the needs of our families. The Sabbath is a gift from God against which we stupidly fight. In this devotional, we hear a about the blessing of Sabbath and how it could improve every part of our lives. 

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 

(Exodus 20:8-11 NIV11)

A Gift From God

After the Lord calls us to turn away from false, hollow, meaningless expressions of his name, image, and form, we are then called to receive a gift from God. 

In the third commandment, our creator, who knows what we really need, gives us the gift of a day dedicated to seeking what is best. 

•   Why do you think the Lord demands rest from his people?
•   Why make the Sabbath a command?

You know the real answer is that we struggle to do those things which are best for us in this life. You know that is true. Why are so many of us struggling with disease related to obesity? Why are so many of us barely able to pay our bills or get adequate sleep at night? If left on our own, we tend to feed the wrong part of our flesh and we prioritize the wrong demands on our schedules. 

The Lord knows that we need clear… forceful… powerful instruction here. He commands rest because the Lord knows that we will not seek it out on our own. 

For Our Good

The Sabbath is for us. It does not improve the Lord or feed God. It only benefits the creation. The command to stop and turn to the Lord, turn to our families, and turn to our own health and wellbeing is a gift for you and me. 

•   When we make time for regular devotion and worship of the Lord, our soul is nourished and strengthened. 
•   When we stop overscheduling our lives and actually sit down with our families face to face, we strengthen our family bonds. 
•   When we stop working, step aside from stress, for one day each week, we allow our bodies to relax and heal. 
•   When we build in times of unstructured connection with God, creation, and the family of faith, we find our lives to be less chaotic, more manageable, and generally happier. 

When is your Sabbath?

Seriously, when do you honor the command of the Lord?

This is not a straightforward proposal. Our world does not run on a biblical schedule. We no longer live in a society that seeks to protect the sanctity of the Sabbath. Now we work around the clock, seven days a week, and when we do have down time, we fill it with entertainment, screens, and other distractions that keep us far from rest. 

I struggle with the application of Sabbath just as much (if not more) than you. I work to help make your Sabbath a reality. My “job” requires me to work my hardest during the day that most consider their Sabbath. It is easy for me to fall into the trap of working all the time and missing out on the good that the Lord offers me in this command. 

Don’t Skip the Sabbath

If you understand my struggle, then maybe we need to start small. 

•   When can you schedule in some unscheduled downtime?
•   Do you have a morning or an afternoon when you can stop scheduling more work, more ballgames, more time commitments and just turn away from the busy life you live as you turn toward the Lord and the blessings of your world?

We cannot skip this gift. The Lord has commanded rest and in his word, he seems pretty serious about the ramifications for those who reject his commands. 

Why not spend a moment or two in prayer today, asking the Lord to show you how to build Sabbath into your busy life!

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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