Genesis 2:1 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
The Lord God did not rest because He was tired after six days of hard work. He rested because His mission was accomplished. He blessed it and called it Holy as He sat back to cherish the work of His hands. There is a lot of misunderstanding regarding the ‘Sabbath-Rest’. Some believe that ‘Sabbath-Rest’ is a traditional ritual and ignore it but others go to an extreme and refrain from doing their daily chores on Sabbath. Sabbath-Rest was instituted by the Lord God Himself. It still stands. God’s promise of entering his rest still stands (Hebrews 4:1a).
In the Divine Workshop, the machineries were shut down and the Lord God sat down to admire and cherish His creation. For the New Testament Believers, Sabbath-Rest is not just a day of the week to put up our feet but the time we take to rejuvenate in God’s presence. Relinquishing worry and work, to worship will cover us under the cloud of Sabbath-rest. The Israelites could not enter into the Sabbath-Rest because of their disobedience. They did not share the faith of those who obeyed (vs 2b). Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:11). Faith is to believe in the omnipotence of God but ‘obedient faith’ is to rest in God’s omnipotence even in the tumult or turmoil. The disobedient will suffer from an unsettled spirit.
Faith is not to believe that God will do everything that we want Him to do but to trust and walk in obedience to His Word, irrespective of the disappointments, rejections or loss. Joyful obedience takes us into a place of Sabbath-Rest and disciplines the soul to remain still even in the squall.
Sabbath-Rest is enjoying God’s presence and activating our faith to walk in obedience, even when we don’t understand.
Sabbath-Rest puts the troubled soul at rest. The disobedient will be anxious about everything but the obedient will be anxious about nothing.
Sabbath-Rest still stands:
1. Storm: The discipline of resting from toil and turpitude into His presence to pray and praise is Sabbath-Rest. The cloud of God’s presence will bring tranquility to the troubled soul.
2. Silence: The silence of God is not the absence of God. When He is silent, raise a joyful shout of ‘Halleluiah’ and all of God’s creations will join you.
3. Spin: If the earth’s axis tilted forward or backward the earth will overheat or freeze. Likewise the axis of our faith is the pivotal point of obedience. If faith is out of alignment it will be impossible to walk in obedience, trust and joy.
Sabbath-Rest is not to sit back doing nothing; it is activating our faith to walk in obedience, trust and submission.
Hebrews 4:3a Now we who have believed enter that rest.
Prayer: Father God, My Creator, activate my faith to walk in submission and obedience. Teach me the secret to rest in your presence and enjoy Sabbath-Rest. Amen.
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