Real Faith Rests

While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the LORD every seventh year. [Leviticus 25.1-2]

The Sabbath is all about rest. It is not just about the seventh day - it is, as the scripture above attests, about rest. If we only see the Sabbath as a 'day' we have missed the point.

Rest is something that modern society knows very little about. Very little if anything at all.

The mandates set forth in Leviticus seem foreign and extreme to us today. They seem irrelevant. For the most part, people today cannot even relate to the idea of the Sabbath - the idea of a day of rest (let alone a year of rest).

The reason the Sabbath seems so removed from us today is because, at the root of our being, is a deep-seated doubt that God is actually our source. We cannot accept the idea that we can ever 'get ahead' if we actually observe a day of rest. So, we go non-stop - but we wonder why we seem to get further behind instead of getting ahead.

A day of rest is, perhaps, the greatest test of faith any believer faces. Our struggle with the idea of a day of rest is indicative of our faith (or lack thereof, I should say).

How many times do we actually feel rested?

We have so much stuff - so many commitments - so many interests, hobbies & toys - so many obligations - so many programs and activities - just so much to do... It is no wonder we find no real time of rest - no real time to observe Sabbath - no real time to consider that our lives (including our time) are not our own.

Jesus is supposed to be, for believers, our rest. But rest has a certain air of resignation to it, and, most of us have yet to resign to God being our everything and especially, our source. So, we praise God and thank Him for Jesus and work like it all depends on us. But our "faith" is just lip service. James said "faith without works is dead." Real faith rests.

Yes, real faith rests.

Father, I can see how modern societies are far from restful. I can see how far I am from restful. Help me to take seriously the fact that You are my everything - and particularly my source. Help me to so believe this that I can comply with You instructions to rest.