Delight in the Sabbath

We grow weary from doing good when we don’t pause and rest like we’re called to. We are not called to go-go-go. The Lord remembers we are made from dust and He knows how much we need a good rest. The Lord calls us to delight in the Sabbath, but if we’re honest, most of us feel awkward or begrudging about the Sabbath. Let’s change that. If we can learn to delight in the Sabbath, it will unlock all kinds of spiritual blessings.

In a way, it’s like tithing. Same principles apply. God asks for the first portion, and He abundantly blesses the rest. With tithing, we entrust our first portion of our moolah, and He cares for everything else. With Sabbath rest, we entrust Him with the first portion of our time, and He cares for everything else.

I’ve heard a ton of sermons on tithing, but seldom one on Sabbath. Interestingly Sabbath made the top ten commandments, and tithing didn’t exactly make the cut. Both are extremely powerful in your life. It’s powerful and brings incredible blessings on you. But if we all know that time is more valuable than money, how much more should we learn about and honor the Sabbath?

What’s more, being a cheerful giver reaps even more blessing than being a begrudging giver. And the same is true with a religious rule-loving version of the Sabbath than someone who delights in God’s heart to gift us the Sabbath.

Here’s a Scripture in two different translations to help you really ponder how to delight in the Sabbath in your heart:

Isaiah 58:13-1, Contemporary English Version

But first, you must start
respecting the Sabbath
    as a joyful day of worship.
You must stop doing and saying
whatever you please
    on this special day.
Then you will truly enjoy
    knowing the Lord.
He will let you rule
    from the highest mountains
and bless you with the land
of your ancestor Jacob.
    The Lord has spoken!

Isaiah 58:13-14, Amplified Bible

“If you turn back your foot from [unnecessary travel on] the Sabbath,
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, not going your own way
Or engaging in your own pleasure
Or speaking your own [idle] words,
¹⁴ 
Then you will take pleasure in the Lord,
And I will make you ride on the high places of the earth,
And I will feed you with the [promised] heritage of Jacob your father;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

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