Sabbath can be translated to mean rest or the day of rest. Sabbath was given to the people as a gift from God to help them to remember him and to help them to remember to stop and to find him in times of rest.
Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
God says to be still to rest and know that he is God. By resting and finding God in the stillness; He is lifted up; God is exalted among the nations and as you stop you can remember that there is no other God let alone another who gives rest. There is no other God and when you are still you can know this.
When you rest; when you stop; when you are still; you can choose to do our own thing and worry about everything going on or you can remember, you can actively know that God is God. To know that He is God you should actively remember and rehearse the things that you know that are true about God. In the stillness you can pray to the Lord and speak to him. In the stillness you can remember his promises. In the stillness you can reflect on what he's done. In the stillness you can remember how He has provided. In the stillness you can read His word and listen for His voice.
In moments of stillness, when you are still you can actively remember and actively know that God is who he says he is. You can do this on your own or when God causes you to stop.
Psalm 23:1–3 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. You may have not noticed this before in this psalm but what David is saying is that God makes him rest for his good. He leads David beside quiet waters and in those places David finds rest and refreshment for his soul.
There's only so much you can continue to do when you don't take time to rest. God has given us rest as a gift so that we can remember that he is God and so that our bodies, minds, and souls can be refreshed. When we don’t rest regularly the idea of stopping for even a few minutes to pray with your eyes closed sounds like the recipe for a quick nap rather than a time of refreshment with God. But by practicing rest, by taking time to rest and to actively remember that the Lord is God you will find refreshment and that you will find your worries lifted and your burdens lightened.
Today on this Sabbath day of rest take a few minutes in stillness, actively remembering that the Lord is God for 3 minutes. You can read the Bible, you can pray, you can think of God’s promises or whatever helps you to know that he is God but take time to be still and know that he is God for a few minutes.
Have a blessed week and may you find rest in our Lord Jesus Christ.
