The last few days have been “cleanup days”. Our garage is in shambles, mostly because we never fully unpacked after we moved in last year. The kid’s rooms are a wreck – thanks to staying home and pulling out Every. Toy. They. Own! The kitchen is a hot mess because of homeschool overflow and a newfound affection for baking. The cleaning was long overdue.
So as I began to tackle the messes, and “bark out”, I mean “suggest” organizing best practices, I was struck by the enormous amount of work it would be and the probable time that would be consumed by the effort. I felt overwhelmed. And when I get overwhelmed, I get cranky. Perhaps I even start procrastinating and feeling sad for myself because, “It’s just too much and I’ll never be able to get it done”. Actually, that was a quote from my daughter (she’s 7), but yet it represented my unstated (I’m an adult who bottles her feelings under the guise of being “responsible”) emotions on the subject.
I sucked it up and began. Friday, I made great progress in the garage. Today, I did some in the kitchen and helped the kids with their rooms. It was going well, and I was amped to complete things this weekend. But tomorrow is Sunday. And God has been impressing on me the importance of Sabbath. My flesh said, “I can start resting and focusing on God on the Sabbath next week after I complete the cleaning.” The Spirit didn’t let me off that easy. I was reminded (or humbled) that no task of mine could possible compare to the creation of the universe, and yet God still thought the “resting” was important enough to be documented in His Word for all of humanity to see as an example.
Gen. 2:3
“Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
This is the part that I never caught before – He blessed it. Here are some pertinent things Merriam-Webster has this to say about the definition.
BLESSING
1b : approval, encouragement
2 : a thing conducive to happiness or welfare
When I pray for God to “bless” a person, family, or situation, I expect that when He does, there will be evidence of said blessing. Maybe not for me to see, maybe not for me to ever know details, but some sort of showing that there has been a Blessing from God. Same thing can be said of God Blessing the Sabbath. There should be evidence, reverence, and actions on our part to demonstrate that the One whom we follow, made this day Holy through a blessing.
What does that mean?
Lev. 23:3
“For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live.”
The same God who allows us to work is the same God that commands us to rest. This is not meant to be a vacation type of situation (note loosely that the text says “wherever you live”, not wherever you choose to travel for peace) instead, you are to find rest right where you stand. Or sit. But the point is, that we are to let go of striving and rest in the Lord. Find Holy Gathering (sacred assembly) in Him.
So, I guess as much as I want to be done with the cleaning, the satisfaction I would get would be short lived compared to the promises to be fulfilled in knowing that I am obeying God.
I pray you all have a restful Sunday!
Prayers and Petition 