The Sabbath and Much More
Exodus 34:21 – Six days are set aside for work, but on the Sabbath day you must rest, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.
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God really cares about this whole resting thing. As I have been reading Exodus, the theme seems to come up over and over again. On top of that I have been reading a book on finances and it has a whole section of the Sabbath and how it relates to finances.
In the time of the exodus, when these things were written, it was unheard of to work only 6 days out of the week. Weekends were not a reality. In Egypt, they worked non-stop, especially the Jews, who were slaves 7 days a week. Then God changed all of that. The question that stands out is “Do you trust me enough to provide for you in six days as much as you could make for yourself in seven. The answer to this question should be yes.
Enter my circumstance. If you have been reading my blog you know we are in a financial crunch. This week in order to put a dent in our debt, I decided to work on Mondays for my father in law. These were normally my day off, but we need the extra dough. Is this an example of me not trusting the Lord to provide for us in six days? Maybe, but I also see that I am in a special circumstance. My job isn’t like other peoples jobs. I work at a church. I pretty much have Saturday and Sunday off, I just have to be at church on those days, and sometimes play a role in the service. It is kind of work, but at the same time not. Look at Jesus he “worked” by healing people on the Sabbath. How is running a church service different than that? I am not sure what a guy is to do.
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Lord, I know you could provide for me in 6 days more than I could make in 7. I am not sure if what I am doing is wrong. I ask for your direction. I am willing to go for it either way. I know you will meet all of my needs, and I trust you. Help me to live the way you want me to live. Give me wisdom.
posted by Thomas at 2:12 PM
2 Comments:
When we went to the last women's retreat, we learned more about the Sabbath and what the speaker called the Sabbath Principle. One thing really stuck in my mind: Don't take a principle and make it a rule. It's a difficult time for you guys right now. It's not like you're going to work every Monday forever. Now, if you decided that you liked making more money and then worked every Monday even after the taxes were paid, then I'd question your motives. Don't stress, maybe GOD put the idea in your head to work on Mondays. Just look at this as a difficult season where you'll have to work hard and sacrifice more, but it will be over by April 15th.
12:02 PM
Thomas, I have to agree with Brian. God has recently spoken to me about the importance of Sabbath as well, and I'm not so sure I am listening as well as I should...and lo and behold, I run into a forced day of Sabbath tomorrow. See my blog for a little more info. But God does this for our own good.Working too hard and spreading yourself too thin, leads to physical, mental and spiritual drain. God used physical pain to lead somebody else to tell me to take it easy and take the day off tomorrow. Try not to let it get that far if you can. And Brian especially got this part right: TRUST GOD!
9:51 PM
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