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God Shabbat. Yes, God rested. He showed us rest before he “commanded” it. In His rest there is power to be aware, to actively hope and to shift perspective to a new way of living.

And so, God invites us to remember. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”, He says.

Remembering makes us AWARE.

Remembering gives us HOPE.

Remembering is ACTIVE.

Remembering brings us PERSPECTIVE.

And, He goes on to explain that He wants for us to work throughout the remaining 6 days, like He did when He created us, humans, and all that we’ve come to enjoy in the natural world around, above and beneath us. And when we’re complete with the tasks of those 6 days, then to rest purposefully like He did (Exodus 20:8-11).

When His creation was complete, God Shabbat/rested. In fact, the exact quote is God “rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11).

Not that He rested on the day, but that He rested the day.

In that kind of rest, there is power!

His work was complete, He paused to enjoy the beauty of His handiwork and to commune with His creation. I imagine Him chatting up a storm with Adam and Eve, exploring the bounties of this newly created world, and enjoying fellowship.

And this is why I love the Sabbath.

1. First, because it reminds me in a tangible way that God is creator.
2. Second, because I enjoy the freedom in focusing primarily on God and all He does for me. And,
3. Thirdly, because on a weekly basis I can rest with purpose—to actively and purposefully choose to remember, to take an active stance to refocus so I may better see and appreciate what God is doing in my life that might not be visible at first glance; and to recenter my life.

Throughout the week I’m pressed with work and though I spend time with God it’s not as dedicated as it is on Sabbath. And then, there’s just something about Sabbath rest.

Sabbath rest is more than refraining from work. It’s giving myself permission to enter into a mindset of completeness, to rest the day.

As my mom always tells me when I’m up late at night trying to meet one deadline or the other, “work is never done”, she’d say. But, on Sabbath, in coming to a sense of completeness—accepting that I’ve done all I can do for those 6 days—I shift my focus.

This means my focus is not on my goals, work deadlines, housework etc. All these are given a less important position in my mind and frees me up to simply enjoy what’s around me. To shift my focus to God and spending time with Him. It’s our weekly Daddy-daughter date. And I love meting up with my Daddy!

Shabbat Shalom. May you find the power in sabbath rest—a shift in perspective to a new way of being.

Thank you for reading!

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In creative solidarity, Dee