Year of the Bible: Part One of Twelveنموونە

God Rests, and This Day is Made Holy.

Stop here and read today's scriptures.

God took a break from laboring. Peter Scazzero, in his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, distinguishes a "day off" from a "Sabbath" this way. "A day off is often used to replenish our energies and make us more effective on the other six days in a week." Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word 'sabat,' meaning to stop, cease, or keep, but it is more than to stop working.

Scazzero gives four elements of a biblically-based sabbath, which are as follows:
•Stop: Stopping (yes, even if your to-do list is still yelling at you) is one way you embrace our God-given limits.
•Rest: Do what replenishes you instead of working and accomplishing things.
•Delight: After finishing His work, God said, "it was very good." He took time to delight in all he had created.
•Contemplate: Take time to think about God in detail.

Question: Do you take a Sabbath? If so, what does it look like? If not, why not?

Prayer focus: Take a moment and ask God what His invitation toward rest (taking a break from regular life activities) might look like in your context.