We invite you to peek inside our weekly Light for the Way devotional series provided by staff.
By Dave Rustad, PHS senior communication specialist
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.” — Exodus 20:8-10a, NIV
I remember well when my kindergarten classmates and I rolled out rugs we had brought to school, and we laid down for 15 minutes of daily rest. What a concept!
That may not be the current practice in kindergarten classrooms, but back in the day, this rest period allowed me and my squirrelly classmates to recharge and refocus.
In Exodus 20, Moses recorded God’s command that we take a break from the busy rhythm of life to rest and reflect on God’s goodness. The command to rest was based on God’s work in creation. This time of rest, the Sabbath, was set apart by God for his people.
Today many Christians observe the Sabbath on Sunday. Unfortunately, this “rest”’ is often riddled with busyness. The things we can’t squeeze into our Monday through Saturday lives — think shopping, errands, exercise, must dos with the kiddos — get pushed into our Sundays. The result? Our Sabbath days may leave us more physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted than our weekdays.
Busyness has that effect. It squeezes our time of rest and distracts us from focusing on the goodness of God. It’s a detour that does not serve us well.
God invites all people to experience His Sabbath. This is more than a time to “‘go to church”; it is a time to pause from the activity in our lives. It is time spent focusing on who God is, what God has done and what God is doing in our lives.
I don’t pretend to have eliminated busyness from my life or from my Sabbath. There are always more “to-dos” on my list of responsibilities and desires. I have learned, however, that when I regularly and intentionally give God my time, attention and praise, when I make Him the focus of my Sabbath rest … my many to-dos fade in urgency.
The Sabbath helps us take our eyes off our agenda and focuses them on the One who created, redeemed and restored us. There’s no better place to find true rest than in God’s goodness.
David Rustad is a PHS senior communication specialist and has spent his career serving Christian nonprofit organizations. He has also published three devotional books, including “Overcoming Busyness: Resting in God during Life’s Demands and Responsibilities,” from which the article above was adapted.
The Light for the Way series provides staff with an examination of a biblical reading to deepen our focus on scripture. Thank you for engaging with this series as we seek wisdom through prayer and reflection as a Christian Ministry.
Find more in the Light for the Way series:
The welcoming prayer
Wisdom of our elders
Get to know us: a Christian ministry
Introducing Light for the Way, a new devotional series
