As some of you may have noticed (or maybe not) last week there was not a blog post. Now one thing when I started this blog was not to feel compelled to put out posts for the sake of having content. I wanted every post to have real value but missing last week was not due to this reason but something else. If you are a regular subscriber to this blog you may remember reading my last post about feeling busy and how connecting to God regularly should be of utmost importance. During this past week I did a much better job of connecting with God through prayer and reading his word but I was still slammed with things that needed to be done. By the end of the week the bags under my eyes and the aches in my body were telling me I had pushed too hard.
On Saturday I was still trying to push through and on the day I had a large task that needed to be completed and it ended up taking all day, right up to the sun setting over the horizon. This day was somehow a little different than the others. That morning in my prayers I felt like God was trying to talk to me but my ears were not open to receiving. I was just ready to start my day and get this job over with but I could sense that God was wanting me to hear something. Luckily for me the task I was working on was not something that required a lot of mental thought but was more physical. I connected to some headphones and started to play some worship music while I worked. I knew God was trying to tell me something but I just couldn’t hear it.
After a while I stopped listening to music and decided to listen to a sermon from the pastor of our previous church. All of this week I had just wanted to take a vacation but everyday was consumed with decisions and tasks. I wanted to get away but it was not in the cards right now. As I listened to the sermon I knew that these were the words I needed to hear. The pastor preached on the importance of taking a Sabbath, or regularly taking a day off. I had been going and going and even when I wasn’t’ physically doing something I was mentally working. He preached on how the Sabbath is not a power move by God but is a gift tied to a blessing from God. I won’t go into the whole sermon, if you want to listen to it you can check it out here.
I decided to make Sunday my Sabbath. This was always the typical day we would rest as a family but somehow we had been slipping away from doing this. I was determined to do everything I could to not work. Physically it wasn’t that difficult but mentally I struggled. It seemed like there were little “opportunities” to work everywhere. I did the best I could and even though I wasn’t perfect I do feel it was overall a success. God is not seeking those who are perfect he is seeking those who know they need him because they aren’t. Coincidentally (if you believe in those things) my daily reading landed me in Mark chapter 2 on Monday morning and Jesus states in verse 27,” The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath”. We need the Sabbath and I knew this was what God was telling me I needed to stop.
Next time you feel like there are not enough hours in the week to get everything done just remember to take a Sabbath and rest. According to scripture we need this rest and it is a beautiful gift from God. I know it is easier said than done but most good things in life are. I apologize for the missed week on the blog and I hope to continue bringing everyone value with these posts.
