- NO to "busyness"
- YES to EMBRACING our focal concerns
- NO to hurry and haste
- YES to EMBRACE our true work
- NO to discouragement
- NO to strain
- NO to "balance"
- YES to EMBRACE your passion
- YES to EMBRACING living within our means and with our limits
- NO to fame and human praise
- YES to EMBRACING God's glory instead of our own
For the Hebrews in the OT, they had to learn to say "NO" to Pharoah and a lifestyle of doing 24/7. God delivers them from Pharoah's hand and reintroduces them to a Sabbath rhythm where one is known not for what they produce, but for being at rest with God. For in six days they would gather the manna (on the sixth day they would gather a double portion for the Sabbath), but on the seventh day they would rest, no gathering and no laboring. It was God's way of teaching them "NO." It was the Hebrews opportunity to say "YES" to God and God's way of life.
A Sabbath rest allows us time to reflect on what it is we need to say "NO" and therefore "YES." Jesus came to deliver us, to set us free, to show us the unforced rhythms of GRACE and yes, how to live in a Sabbath rythm. He is our deliverer. He is our "YES."
Perhaps, there is a "master" you need to say "NO," in order to experience the Jesus life and follow him well. I pray this Sabbath you are able to say "NO" in order to EMBRACE God's YES!
Sabbat Shalom
3 comments:
Wes' last two posts focused on ceasing and saying "no." For the last two weekends I have done neither and am feeling the effects of it. The good news is that after having practiced a Sabbath rhythm in the 2-3 weeks prior, I am learning the absolute value of taking time to stop from the busyness. The weekend ahead looks to be a busy one, but I am planning on moving my Sabbath to Monday for this week, so I can enjoy the Sabbath gift.
heinzz57,
Thanks for your post and honesty. Sabbath keeping is hard, but very necessary for our well-being. I hope you will continue in your desire for self-care through SABBATH ceasing. I pray you will find ONE day to enjoy this divine rhythm. This is the hard part of managing our self-care. For the JEWS, that day was Saturday and everything adjusted to it. In our day, we don't let a SABBATH ceasing determine our time. We allow time to determine our Sabbath keeping.
As part of ceasing, I have tried to carve out our sabbath time to get away from church/NCM folks. When we get together work can just sort of spontaneously happen. This past Sabbath, that did not happen. There was a surprise party for a college student who also attends our church and my family was, of course, invited.
I went, mentally commited to be in a spirit of rest, not work. The home we went to had a trampoline and a pool. It was good to spend time simply goofing off with the people I work with, without a care in the world.
I don't know if I am very good at this thing yet. Sabbath always seems to playout a little differently than I expect it to. I have worked at being intentional, but I've been flexible about it. And it doesn't seem like a compromise, but I'm not sure.
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