033 Sacred Rhythms: In the Beginning
From the beginning of time, God set a rhythm into motion. A rhythm of rest and work that He knew would bring greater joy and fruitfulness for His creation. Then He modeled that rhythm for us so we could imitate Him. Six days of work and one day of rest.
We call that day of rest “Sabbath,” and it is the first thing in the Bible to be called “holy.” Literally, set apart as special. In fact, God mandated this day of rest in the Ten Commandments when He said, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
What if we recognized that we were hardwired by our Creator to live with this rhythm between work and rest? What if we saw this rhythm as truly sacred – that as with other aspects of our discipleship we were really expected to honor it? And what if we understood that in violating those rhythms we would pay dearly?
When we honor this call to rest, we mimic God so we'll remember that we’re not God. Our failure to take this seriously, our refusal to stop usually stems from getting this exactly backward. We don’t dare imitate God’s own rest because we are too busy trying to be God.
I may proclaim faith in One who has all things under control, but my actions would seem to say that I believe it all depends on me. And that being the case, I can’t step away from work to rest.
So, let me invite you to some holy imagination. Can you imagine one day a week where you say, “This day is my gift from God? On this day it is not my job to fix the world. It’s my opportunity to rest, reflect, and rejoice.”
GETTING IN RHYTHM
What is it about this idea of living a life of sacred rhythms between work and rest that resonates with you? Why?
What is it about this idea of living a life of sacred rhythms that frustrates you? Why?
What do you think God’s heart is for you regarding this?
What do you think God might be saying to you about this?
What do you think God might have you do?
Text: Matt.11:28-30; Gen. 1:28, 2:2-3
Originally recorded June 8, 2014, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.