Loving God

Focus Statement

We live in a world that tells us to go go go go go go go!

Idle time makes for the devil’s playground, we’ve been told.

Yet, friends, let me share a little secret with you:

to regularly set aside time to rest and worship demonstrates our love for God.

POINT OF RELATION

Lately I have been on a path of self-discovery.

Really, this entire pandemic has been such a time.

Like, there are always seasons of reflection and self-discovery...

I fell we are, or should, always be learning more and more about ourselves.

One such thing I have learned about myself...

I really, really do have an anxiety issue.

I mean, sure…all humans have stress and anxiety...

But not like I do.

You see, it turns out that even hearing a car driving down the street gives me anxiety.

Being around groups of people makes me anxious.

Heck…I have discovered that, up until recently, there wasn’t really any time I could think of that I was not stressed an anxious.

And, of course, that feeds into the depression I have suffered from.

Now, by anxiety, let me give you a quick peek into what I mean...

I am not talking about “worrying”, or “nervousness”.

Alone those things would be easy enough to cope with.

By anxiety,

I mean a constant heaviness...

stemming from a never-ending knot in your stomach.

I mean panic attacks where blood pressure and breathing rates go through the roof...

I am talking about the kind of anxiety that can drive one’s decisions…

And paralyze oneself from acting on anything at all.

By anxiety, I mean mental illness.

Something I am not ashamed to admit I suffer from...

Because…we all suffer from stuff in our brokenness...

Perhaps your pain is similar to mine…perhaps not.

Regardless, suffering is a part of the human condition…and we all endure it.

So, back to my self-realization,

I recognized that I was suffering from a level of anxiety that I could not dismiss or ignore.

And I sought out help…treatment…for my anxiety...

Now, I have a very minimal, healthy amount of anxiety...

and I am beginning to see how it was destroying my life.

On Thursday, I was working on stuff that needed to get done

when I noticed that my Macbook battery needed to be recharged....

Normally, I would have picked up the macbook, brought it inside, plugged it in…and kept working...

But I realized I was hungry and tired...

So, I non-anxiously put my work down and rested until my macbook was chareged and I could work outside again.

NOTE. I did not take a vacation there. I didn’t take any longer than an hour or so break…

but that little break made ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Thanks to my anxiety being under control…I could actually stop and take time for myself. WOW! Novel though...

Too bad it took 42 years and a pandemic to figure that out.

Things to Consider

As a society, we tend to over schedule.

Our entire existence is centered on schedules and deadlines.

From jobs, to school, to sports, to clubs, to organizations, to church, to family, and a plethora of other things...

We are booked from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep...

And that time is getting less and less and less.

Yet, despite that people are finding good ways to rest and find restoration.

Some are choosing to opt to worship and give online as they need to recuperate and seek healing from various ailments or illnesses.

Some, like myself, are choosing to stop working and let it wait for the next day...

in order to play a little.

What Scripture Says

By the time Jesus began teaching, Sabbath rest had become a very stringent, legalized practice.

There were several hundred things a law-abiding Jew could not do on the Sabbath.

In fact, law-abiding Jews had to count their steps even and only pick things up if it were necessary.

Throughout the Bible, Jesus has various encounters with the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath.

Jesus did not see Sabbath as a restrictive, joyless practice;

instead, it was a time to share with others,

a time of healing,

a time to extend love,

and a time too extend grace.

Let’s pause to consider ways Jesus invites people into Sabbath:

He invites people into SILENCE,

Into...Contemplative periods of withdrawal.

He invites people into prayer...and of course, into fellowship.

In his book, Wrestling with Rest,

Nathan Stucky notes that Jesus only spends one Sabbath day alone

he spends the rest in various types of community.

So being with others in fellowship,

particularly centered around Jesus,

is one way for people to find Sabbath rest and even healing

(another of Jesus’ favorite Sabbath activities).

This is why WORSHIP is so vital of a Sabbath practice.

Jesus also points to Sabbath as a holy time.

Sabbath rest helps us create space to honor God,

to set time apart to build a loving relationship with God.

The gospels also indicate that, sometimes, Jesus worshiped on the Sabbath

(e.g., when Jesus read Scripture at the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath).

At other times, he recharged by spending time in prayerful solitude (e.g., right before Jesus met up with the disciples on the Lake in Matthew 14:22-23).

We can see that there are different ways to Sabbath at different times,

and when we have different needs.

What This Means For You

Each of us has the ability to take time apart with God.

Making time for Sabbath is at least as important as scheduling other tasks.

Let me ask you this…consider how you are going to spend some quality time with God and also rest?

Perhaps you will read the Bible each morning or evening.

Perhaps you will set apart specific times for prayer

Perhaps you will go to a place like Sunrise mountain and meditate on God’s glorious creation.

There are many ways to draw closer God...

And Sabbath gives us the time and space to do so...

When we do…we discover that our God is, indeed, a LOVING GOD!

In fact, God created the SABBATHf out of LOVE FOR US...

So that we could rest, enjoy life, play a little and grow in relationship with God.

What This Means For Us

What does it mean to take a Sabbath?

How might you need to let some things go to make space and time to spend time with God.

What ways can we as a Christian community help you to make Sabbath a practice?

What things can we offer…or perhaps you could offerr...

To promote Sabbath and rest as a Spiritual Disicpline?

Together, let’s journey toward building loving friendships, loving community,

and a loving family in the name of our loving God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let the Summer of Love continue in our lives and hearts now and always. Amen? Amen!