Living on Sabbath Time: Day 11/31

• “No matter what job or profession I have, I’m not going to settle for anything less than the maximum expression of my ability.  My primary concern is not going to be what my pay is, but what my effort is – how carefully, efficiently, and excellently I work.” _John MacArthur, Whose Money Is It Anyway?

So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. (Leviticus 16:16)

Recently while attending a two day denominational event Sonja and I took our granddaughter, Trinitee with us.  In the evening we took her to a local Shopping Mall and that had a children’s playground.  It just so happened that there was also a little train that the children could ride on; and of course Trinitee was all over that.  So there we were, Sonja and I following a train around the Mall taking pictures, waving and laughing and making a spectacle of ourselves (and we didn’t care one bit…we’re grandparents now and grandparents are allowed to act like that).

But for Trinitee, the highlight of the evening was riding up and down the escalator.  I know that she and I rode up and down the escalator at least five times and she also rode a few times with Sonja.

Why the escalator thrilled her I don’t know, but I do know that that evening was a perfect example of Sabbath living.  Just as God made provisions for His holy presence to be able to remain in the midst of the camp of the Israelites (see verse above), Sabbath moments are a way to keep His presence in the midst of our lives.

Sabbath moments are those moments in our day – in the midst of all the labor, stress, sin, sorrow and tasks – that we pause and delight ourselves in the provisions of God.  It can be something as simple as stopping long enough to really savor a fresh cup
of coffee, reading and reflecting on a chapter from the Bible, taking a ten-minutes “power nap” or simply stepping outside a moment to clear your mind and listen to the birds sing.

What Sabbath moments allow for is those intentional moments when you stop working, worrying and warring and you rest.  You push back the demands of life and you focus on the delights of God.

My dear friend, make sure you have a few of those “delight” moments every day and then once a week take an entire day and you and God ride trains and escalators; and by the way, God loves it when you bring someone along with you (like grandparents!).

Finding delight in Him,

dlk