Trust and the Sabbath

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work....For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.--Exodus 20: 9-11

For some time now, I have been pushing myself so hard in my work that I've pretty much worked right through the weekend.  Besides the fact that I feel guilty about my failure to take a proper Sabbath, I've heard (and can personally confirm) that this kind of schedule is bad for creating burnout and heightening stress levels.  So, this past weekend, I really tried to stop. I really did. I ended up feeling restless and even bored, and found myself switching the computer on again, just to fill the boredom.

This experiment revealed some weaknesses in me that I need to correct. It also made me think a little more about the purpose of the Sabbath in Biblical times.  Most obviously, it was symbolic of the rest that we could find in Christ, who opened the doors of heaven for those who believe in Him (see Hebrews 4: 8-11).  Without minimizing this very important meaning, I also wanted to point out some subtler messages that the sabbath rest sends.

To a mostly agrarian society, the idea of completely stopping all work one day of the week was pretty radical. A lot can happen with livestock in one day (obviously, the Bible made allowances for helping an animal in distress on the Sabbath).  Also, if a person is harvesting a field and has to stop for a day of rest, what could happen to the unharvested crop in the meantime? This carries forward today, even in non-agrarian jobs, when a worker has to leave a project half-completed, and wonders if he or she did "enough" to stem the work overload when Monday comes.

There is also the worry about finances that creeps over people when they are not working. Taking a whole day off makes people very aware of the fact that they are not making money at that moment, especially those who make little money anyway, or those who have a lot of bills.  Since money buys food, clothing, and shelter, and these things are essential for life, taking a day off is almost like jeopardizing survival.  It can be scary!

On top of these basic worries, there is a feeling of lost esteem that can overtake people who are used to actively working at a job.  There may be few people to interact with on a day off, and no accolades or any kind of emotional reward.  This is perhaps the most subtle loss of all.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that, besides the spiritual symbolism, the Sabbath is a trust exercise that God established to teach us about Him and to clear up our misconceptions about work.  We can get so involved in our work that we begin to think we can control our futures and buy our salvation and security with our efforts, and we begin to value ourselves by our labor. God wants us to see that He guards our interests, provides for our needs, and gives us the value and attention that we secretly desire--but we need to trust His word on it!  Through Christ, God's only son, God has prepared and established a future for those who know Him which can never be taken away--not even by a catastrophe that sweeps over us in one day. The work of preparation, and the work of salvation, is already done. Now He just wants us to enjoy it with Him.

Let me reiterate my point: Work is good, but it serves a different purpose from establishing salvation, protecting our futures, or giving us our value. God has already done all of that, so if at all possible, we should take time from our labors to acknowledge and truly enjoy this new-found rest with Him.  That is what the Sabbath is for--a weekly reminder of God's power and provision.

Heed the Warnings

The evening news has been rather disturbing this week, bristling with stories of Christian persecution worldwide, as well as a declining moral climate and an increased acceptance of sin, especially in the legal arena.

Meanwhile, I have been reading through Jeremiah again.  I don't think I'm imagining things when I see similarities between the ancient Jewish culture in that book and today's culture.  The prophet told those people to repent or face punishment, and in chapter 18, he went through an elaborate demonstration and object lesson to convey this message. Even so, the leaders and officials seemed unimpressed.  They scoffed and said, "It's no use. We will continue with our own plans" (Jeremiah 18:12). These days, a similar reply would be, "You go your way, I'll go mine."  Even the threat of God's wrath, or of suffering and danger, was not enough to shake them or change their minds.

I bring up Jeremiah because I am concerned for the United States and many other so-called Christian countries of the world that have been making world news headlines recently with immorality and scandal. If God judged sin in those days with drought, famine, plague, violence, and ultimately invasion from a foreign power, what is to prevent Him from judging sin the same way now? I'm also deeply concerned that I've been seeing the same unimpressed, lackadaisical response to the threat of God's wrath in today's world as there was, long ago.

This is all very troubling. I could delve deeply into the situation, but there is not enough room in this blog post, or my schedule.  Besides, my main point is to call my readers to prayer and revival.

The sky is not falling; God is still in control, no matter what the newspapers say.  However, where there is sin to be given up, we should seek the Lord's forgiveness and change our ways. It is time for Christians to gather and pray for each other, and to pray for revival--a return to the Lord and His ways--worldwide.  The world doesn't need our charity as much as it needs our Savior.  It doesn't need our condolences as much as it needs His comforting.

I am praying nightly for these things. Care to join me? Set aside some time every evening, perhaps right after the evening news goes off on television, to pray for your neighbor, your nation, and any country in the world that you heard about on the news.  It may only take a moment, but it is a significant step!  Ask the Lord to reveal sin and bring about a desire for Him in the hearts of those you are praying for (that includes yourself and your own household).  Pray for the missionaries, preachers, and lay ministers.  Petition the Lord for a harvest of souls, and a change in the world through revival. Pray for the Lord's guidance and protection in this increasingly dangerous world. See you at the prayer closet!

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.  Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55: 6, 7 NIV)

Be Anxious for Nothing

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.--Philippians 4:6 NIV

My friends and I have a lot of reasons to be anxious, lately, ranging from a desperate search for jobs and income to fears about striking out alone on a new venture, moving, family troubles, starting a family, and health problems.  Add to that stack a pile of worries about the economy, politics, the state of society, and world events, and it seems we are running the full gamut of troubles right now. It can get overwhelming.  In fact, it seems like stepping back and looking at the "big picture" only makes it more overwhelming and frightening. It looks a bit like the whole world is coming to pieces.

But the Bible says "Do not be anxious for anything," so...

There are advice coaches out there who tell us to put our fears out of our minds and "focus on the goals" instead, as if we have a superhuman ability to forget the big scary thing bearing down on us.  Maybe some people have this ability.  I, for one, do not.  If I am able to keep moving, I only make slow progress, pausing frequently to measure the distance between me and my goals, and me and that crazy, charging bear called fear.  Yeah, it's still there, and it still seems a lot closer than the next paycheck, etc.

In fact,  it seems that, "Objects in mirror are closer than they may appear."  Ever been there?

However, if we look at this verse in Philippians a little more closely, we see that it isn't a rebuke, criticizing us for feeling afraid.  It doesn't minimize what we are going through, although we may someday look back and say, "What was I afraid of? Little did I know that good things were just around the corner."  That verse doesn't tell us that those aren't scary things, as if feeling fear is an insane response. It just tells us that we ought to spend that time and energy we are devoting to wholesale worry into doing something better--praying.  

Prayer, by the way, is not a self-induced hypnotism, in which when we say the words, just saying them is calming and soothing.  Prayer is not like a breathing exercise, or eating a piece of chocolate.  Prayer has real power to those who know the Lord (James 5: 16).  It doesn't just temporarily change our mood; it actually changes the situation, even if we don't perceive it at the time.  Why?  Because we are actually speaking to the real God who can fix our problems, and He is actually listening! He is taking extensive notes and collecting every one of our tears (Psalm 56: 8-9).  And because He has heard, He will react.  We can be confident that things are going to change, and that this big, scary thing (whatever it is), has finally met its match! 

Sometimes, God takes away the obstacle immediately, and sometimes He makes us wait for reasons only He knows at the time.  The waiting is the hardest part, after a prayer, because we can't see God or hear Him taking steps to correct the problem (usually), and people tell us we are silly for believing, and more often than not, we feel a bit silly, too.  Despite all of these things, we need to hold on.  Sometimes that is just what God wants to see us do.  We need to remember that we didn't speak to an imaginary God, or a weak power.  He can handle this, and He is handling this.

This is what Philippians 4:7 (the verse that follows the one at the start of this post) is talking about.  It says, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  So the full instruction in Philippians 4: 6-7 is (1) when you have a problem that makes you feel anxious, (2) deal with it by presenting it in prayer to a real God, (3) and feel peace beyond what your mind and your heart tells you to feel, because (4) God personally reassures your spirit, demonstrating that He is acting on your behalf.

A friend of mine, a fairly recent convert to Christianity from Hinduism, told me about her recent experience that proved that God hears every prayer.  She said she was lying awake at night, praying about some big things in her life that are not going well, and crying about it.  Finally, she said to God, in her heart and not out loud, "Lord, I just need a hug right now."  She is living with a family currently, and they have a little boy who is not even school age, yet. The next morning, after this silent prayer, this little boy approached her and said, "God told me that I need to hug you," and gave her a big hug!  So, in this way, God sent her the message that He heard the whole thing (even the silent parts), and that He is taking care of it, from the smallest requests to the biggest ones.  I have faith that God is taking care of this situation, though we haven't seen it all, yet, because He has demonstrated that He is already actively taking part in her life.

Likewise, I have faith that God hears and that God is working in all of these other situations that my friends and I are going through, because He already has worked miracles in our lives. These present circumstances are just another situation in which His power can be known.  So I leave with a call to everyone reading this: Don't spend your energy worrying--just pray! Your fears may seem big and strong, but God is so much bigger and stronger.  Hang in there, and give all of your troubles to Him, so that He can lift you up, even in the midst of them.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." --1 Peter 5:7 NIV