Deuteronomy 5:12"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
Exodus 31:14" 'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.
Exodus 16:23He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' "
Jeremiah 17:22Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.Jeremiah 17:22Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.
Mark 2:26-28 the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
It is a joke for women of small (or many) children that Sunday is a day of rest... and yet our Lord reminds us that the Sabbath was created for us.
Our responsibilities don't end on Sunday. In fact Sundays can be congested with getting children ready and transported to church, the feeding of families and the tending of homes. Even when laundry and and vacuuming are abstained from there is a great deal to do daily. So how are we women to carefully observe the day of our Lord and keep it holy?
It is a struggle and I am sure it is no accident that the pull of Monday exerts strong control over even the atmosphere of even the most leisurely of Sunday afternoons. The modern life tries to fit as much as possible into our weeks, and the eve of those weeks could be seen as prep day. Those of us who own businesses have the added burden of keeping that running while maintaining a sane home life, and for those of us who also homeschool it is a trial to not try to "get ahead" on this day set aside for rest. It is a challenge to NOT shop on Sundays. It requires more planning on Thursday or Friday to be prepared through Monday. It is a challenge to swim upstream against a society who would love to conduct business with us on the Lord's day, treating it like any other day of the week, degrading it.
Our family has resisted the invitations to sporting events on Sundays. That means no club teams. For many families whose children are physically gifted and wish to pursue specific sports for recreation this would not be an option. For our family this would not work. For others they see it as a time to spend time together encouraging one another.
In my personal time I try to keep Sunday holy by consciously avoiding talking on the phone of planning meeting for the time, and trying to control the media I read. I find my psyche needs a break from the worldly news, the trials and pains for a day. I try and be purposeful in my prayer.
Still, I am an exhausted person who cries out to pursue hobbies that I have little energy for. I find myself more frustrated on Sundays than on other days of the week as I try and find an hour to myself, a moment of peace and quiet. I struggle with feeling selfish when I try and take some time, angry that the neighbor has to run his lawnmower and disturb the quiet I finally found outside, annoyed when telemarketers call and interrupt dinner... Am I angry because there are so few like minded people in my life outside of church?
I desire for my children on the Sabbath to have peace in their hearts that they might get the joy and refreshment that comes from resting in the Lord. I desire that for myself as I have such a hard time putting down my spoon, my car keys, my wallet for today so that I can take up the opportunity to be replenished spiritually for the week to come. Why is it so hard for me? Do I so need to control the aspects of my life that I feel out of control of that fear of being able to fulfill all my responsibilities dominates the time I should spend resting?
I pray that I am able to allow myself to be used and perfected by the spirit of the Lord so I can have a greater depth of understanding of how He would like me to observe His day.
