Date Day

Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.

Isaiah 58:13 (NLT)

In the world in which we live, information and opportunities for busyness fly at us 24/7. Just looking at your smart phone, or other device, and you’ll see millions of opportunities for things which want to suck up every second of every day. Then, of course, apart from our digital devices, we have school, work, and family obligations. When we tally up all the hours required to get everything done on any particular day, the amount of sleep we can get shrinks to just a few hours. We are an exhausted world.

God, who is pretty smart and wise, saw the tendencies of our humanity to overwork ourselves, built in some time to chill. In the Bible, it’s called the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day which God created for us to drop the busyness of life and rest from all of that stress. Since the creation of the world, the Sabbath has happened every seven days. On our modern English calendar, we call the day Saturday.

However, this day isn’t just designed for sleeping. It’s also designed to connect us in a special way to the One who created us, the One who energizes us with His Spirit, the One who gives us life – God. The Sabbath was created as a time to drop all distractions of life and concentrate on building our relationship with Jesus stronger. One of my friends calls it our weekly date with Jesus. So, on Sabbath, we gather together to worship Him, learn about Him, and experience Him without distraction. Honestly, it’s my favorite day of the week.

The sad reality is that billions of people, including those who call themselves Christian, refuse to take the opportunity ordained by God and stop the busyness for one day and concentrate on Him. By doing so, they are missing out on the huge blessings which God has designed for us – rest, rejuvenation, and adoration.

This week, if you find yourself feeling overloaded and spiritually drained, remember the Sabbath day. Embrace it for what it is: A gift from God. Drop the busyness on Sabbath and embrace your Savior. Don’t ghost Him on your weekly date day.