The free gift of Divine rest, part 2
If you stop trampling on the day of worship and doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the day of worship a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way, by not going out when you want, and by not talking idly, then you will find joy in the Lord. I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you with the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob. The Lord has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14 (God's Word)
On My holy day, God says. The Lord's Holy Day, God says. Make His day special, honorable, and you will find joy in the Lord. A day of promise — golden promises surrounding God's Holy Day, the Lord has spoken. Remember. Delight.
Delight!
If you turn away your foot from [traveling unduly on] the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor Him and it, not going your own way or seeking or finding your own pleasure or speaking with your own [idle] words, then will you delight yourself in the Lord, and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage [promised for you] of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Isaiah 58:13-14 (Amplified Bible)
A psalm. A song to be sung on the Sabbath Day.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the evening,
accompanied by the ten-stringed harp
and the melody of the lyre.
You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!
I sing for joy because of what you have done.
O Lord, what great works you do!
And how deep are your thoughts.
Only a simpleton would not know,
and only a fool would not understand this:
Though the wicked sprout like weeds
and evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.
Your enemies, Lord, will surely perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have anointed me with the finest oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and
grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
For they are transplanted to the Lord's own house.
They flourish in the courts of our God.
Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.
They will declare,
"The Lord is just! He is my rock!
There is no evil in him!"
Psalms 92, New Living Translation
Rest, from rules, regulations, to-do lists, to-don't lists, worries about today and recriminations about yesterday. Rest. Rest in Him. Resting in Him is the key, and He is the One Who provides the rest. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
This rest is delightful. This rest is loving. This rest is not hard. It is all about peace that surpasses our understanding, this rest in Him, this grace. The Sabbath is the very sign of grace, from God Himself, free, good, full of light, full of delight. The Sabbath is delightful.
God does not make the Sabbath hard, or unyielding, it is only people that do that.
It is as if God gives us a golden apple, and we, in our desire to make it our own, tie a string around the apple because we want to remember that God said remember. And we tie more strings on, strings of rememberance. Through the years the golden apple becomes cloaked, hidden, disguised, and we end up lugging about a heavy ball of ratty yarn, and we call it good, we say we ought to remember it, and we claim to our own despite that it is from God.
But God did not give us a ratty ball of yarn. He gave us a golden apple, sweet and pure, shining with delight. He gave it to us. We did not establish it. We did not vote it into existence. Or choose it in our good intentions to celebrate Resurrection, or football, or Sunday morning soccer.
God gave us a gift without a solitary string attached. It was us, people of man-made rules, people who would rather keep our own counsel than listen to the Counselor. We attach strings, our own man-made rules and regulations, our commandments of men, and we hide God's Own Holy Day. The first gift He gave to humankind, the Gift of Divine Rest.
God bless you and your family!
Art et Amour Toujours
