“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. . . the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. . . Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”

Devotion based on Deuteronomy 5:12,14,15

House-hunting. Writing project. Softball practice. Summer activity roadmap. Water and electricity bills. Basketball camp. Tomato plants and two trees next to the garage to get planted. Birthdays to plan. Work presentation next Thursday. Home projects. Details of the trip out west.

Do you feel utterly exhausted and waylaid by endless demands and stifling routines? Even your upcoming vacation plans have a panicky, task-like edge to them. The mantra of your day: “If only I had more time.” Is this the real problem? Wouldn’t this be more accurate: you’ve forgotten God’s ancient wisdom for you? You have forgotten the Lord’s own rhythm of work and rest.

To remember God’s own Sabbath—given for you, not for him—is to be handed the elixir to the productivity game playing around you and in your own life. What a gift God has given you in the Sabbath! A gift for your sanity and wholeness. A gift to enrich your lives. A gift to make your joy complete. Sabbath restores your bent and withered parts.

The best part of the Sabbath is Jesus. “If you’re exhausted and panicky, come to me and I’ll give you ‘sabbath,’” Jesus invites.

Jesus has secured forgiveness for your sins, including the one where you ignored God’s wisdom of work and rest. Always living up to the demands of his Father and the law, Jesus has carried all of your weariness to the cross. There, he paid your death sentence. He now lives. Jesus is the gift for forgiveness and eternal life for rest. Jesus is the gift for your sanity and wholeness. Jesus is the gift to enrich your lives. Jesus is the gift to make your joy complete. Jesus restores your bent and withered parts. Jesus is rest.

Take a breath and relax. Jesus is your Sabbath gift.

Prayer: