Sabbath

‘You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the LORD’ Ex.31:15a

‘Stand at the door of the tent, he told her. If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no. But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died’ Judges 4:20-21. Sisera was the commander of a great Canaanite army. A ruthless and seasoned warrior who was able to oppresses a country. Yet, despite being a seasoned warrior, despite his survival instincts, he finds himself in taking refuge in the soothing hands and pampering hospitality of a housewife. This moment of weakness leads to his death. Why? He suffered exhaustion. Exhaustion has the ability to make the strongest of us pitifully weak. Exhaustion makes you lower your defenses. Think about it, Jael ordinarily would dare not lift a finger against Sisera. Yet exhaustion  rendered him helpless. Every day, we find ourselves juggling so many activities and responsibilities. The wear and tear of our daily lives tends to take us daily to the place of exhaustion. We become too tired for the things that are most important. Too exhausted to pray or spend time with our families. However, what most of us are unaware of is that the enemy knows this too. And he is lurking in the shadows waiting for us to get exhausted, lower our defenses and then he can attack. This is why it is important for us to obey God’s command, ‘six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the LORD’. You and I need to have a Sabbath, a day of rest where we can be refreshed in the presence of God. A day you spend time with your Maker and get new strength, new vision and new ability to run for the next six days. If you must suffer exhaustion, let it be in the presence of God so that you are shielded from adversity. Your Sabbath is not just a day of rest but a day of rest in the presence of God.

Thought: Who or what do you open up to when you are exhausted?

 Prayer: Father, help me guard against exhaustion. Help me identify a day for my Sabbath set apart for You, in Jesus Name.