Rest - Keep It Holy

And this is the other part of keeping the Sabbath holy: spending time with God. There are two things in life that demonstrate our priorities—two things that you can look at in someone’s life to tell what’s truly important to them: where they spend their time, and where they spend their money. This is why tithing is so important. God commanded us to give the firstfruits of our labor to Him, demonstrating that He is our priority, and keeping us from allowing money to become an idol (and we know that we cannot serve two masters. We will either “hate the one and love the other,” or we will be “loyal to the one and despise the other”—Matthew 6:24).

So if that is what we are to do with our money, what then shall we do with our time, the time which God has given us? Just as we tithe our money (or should be tithing our money), we need to tithe our time. This is how we keep the Sabbath holy, by devoting it to God. And this doesn’t mean that you need to spend the whole day on your face, crying out to God and reading Scripture (though there are times for that). It simply means that the Sabbath is a day to encounter God. Take time during the Sabbath to journal, to pray, to listen, to read (Scripture or other books that draw you closer to God), or to enjoy His creation (meeting God in the birds, the trees, the ocean, or wherever). Spend time with people who draw you closer to God and engage in meaningful conversations that will help you grow and will help you fall more deeply in love with your Creator.

And most importantly, enjoy your Sabbath. It was created for you, after all. It is a gift to be cherished, and if you remember it and make it holy—if you make it a lifestyle—it will bless you, encourage you, strengthen you, fill you and renew you, helping you find a much richer, deeper, and more meaningful walk with God.

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