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Strength For Today
Jon BurgessQuit trying to be God and just be with God. So simple. So clear. So powerful. So profound. God is God and we are not. He never runs out of strength and we do. Yes, we were made to run, but not alone. We were made to run with Him. Not just for Him. Not just to Him. But running with Him. So, how does that work exactly? One word: Sabbath. A few chapters later the prophet Isaiah explains how we are sustained by Sabbath: 13“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day,if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”The mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 58:13-14) Now it starts to make sense. The God who never grows tired or weak established a rhythm for our week by resting on the seventh day. Just as it says in the ten commandments, we work six days and we rest on the seventh. Sabbath isn't a sign of weakness for our God is not weak. Sabbath keeps us running throughout the week because it reminds us where our strength is derived from during the week. What's first determines what's next. By putting God first at the first of the week we keep God first throughout the week. Instead of living for the weekend we are living with the One who is never weakened.
Wow! I really needed this message this morning. I am coming off a weekend of moving our family of seven into a new rental. We had lots of help from friends and were able to get it all done on time. I must admit that I showed up to work this morning feeling more weary then ready for the run ahead. Then, like a cool breeze on a sweltering day God's Word came to me to remind of how to keep going. How? Stop going. Stop doing. Start being with Him. I had to laugh as I read about youth's growing tired and weary. There was a time when I could count myself in that category but it has long since passed. So, if young men are getting exhausted in the race, old guys like me are collapsed on the side of the race track grasping for breath. Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. Sabbath really is about trust. If I can't trust Him to take care of the million things that I need to do by taking one day off to be with Him, then I have put trust in myself. The message is clear: Quit trying to be God and just be with God.
So, I have to repent this morning, Lord. Mondays are mySabbath and I spent part of the day yesterday working on my message about Sabbath. Then I wake up this morning and you come gently with scriptures about Sabbath to remind me that I can trust you with my messages, with my move, with my mountains of unresolved issues. This morning I enter my Sabbath moment with You. I'm so glad that alongside running and not growing weary there's also the option of walking and not fainting. I think that's where I'll start with You this morning. Let's walk this week out together. Sabbath is the place where I find You and You are my strength for today.
