God’s Day Off
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
(Genesis 2:1-3)
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
(Mark 2:27-28)
Most people aren’t surprised to hear that God took a day off at the end of his busy week of creating the world. Producing all those stars and all those planets, all those plants and all those animals, would surely have been enough to exhaust anyone! But take a moment to reflect on what we know about God, and you might find what God did on Day Seven of creation week a bit more surprising. You see, God isn’t just anyone. He wasn’t exhausted at all.
The Bible informs us that God never gets tired (Isaiah 40:28). He never needs to take a break to recharge his batteries (John 5:17). He never needs to go to sleep (Psalm 121:4). The Lord didn’t take the day off on the seventh of creation week for his own sake. Jesus explains in Mark 2 that he took a day off for the sake of you and me.
The Lord created Adam and Eve at the end of Day Six of creation week. In other words, Day Seven for God was Day One for Adam and Eve. The Lord invited them to begin their first week with a day of rest as a reminder that God is God and we are not. Our lives depend on his work and not on our own. As Adam and Eve rested in a garden they had not planted, picked fruit they had not grown and enjoyed food they had not cultivated, they lifted their faces up to heaven and worshipped the Lord. Why not take some time out of your busy day today to do the same?
The Bible informs us that God never gets tired (Isaiah 40:28). He never needs to take a break to recharge his batteries (John 5:17). He never needs to go to sleep (Psalm 121:4). The Lord didn’t take the day off on the seventh of creation week for his own sake. Jesus explains in Mark 2 that he took a day off for the sake of you and me.
The Lord created Adam and Eve at the end of Day Six of creation week. In other words, Day Seven for God was Day One for Adam and Eve. The Lord invited them to begin their first week with a day of rest as a reminder that God is God and we are not. Our lives depend on his work and not on our own. As Adam and Eve rested in a garden they had not planted, picked fruit they had not grown and enjoyed food they had not cultivated, they lifted their faces up to heaven and worshipped the Lord. Why not take some time out of your busy day today to do the same?
1) How easy do you find it to remember that all the lasting successes in your own life originate with the work of God for you, rather than with your own work for God?
2) How do you think the Lord might want to use the Sabbath principle to help you in this? What do you think Jesus means when he says that God created the Sabbath day as a gift for you?
3) What one simple change could you make to your lifestyle this week that would help you to become a person who rests in God’s work for them, much more than a person who rushes around in work for God?
2) How do you think the Lord might want to use the Sabbath principle to help you in this? What do you think Jesus means when he says that God created the Sabbath day as a gift for you?
3) What one simple change could you make to your lifestyle this week that would help you to become a person who rests in God’s work for them, much more than a person who rushes around in work for God?
Father God, I thank you that you rested on Day Seven of creation for my sake. Thank you that you used the Sabbath day to teach humanity, from the very outset, that life is all about your gifts to us, rather than our hard graft for you. Help me to make some simple changes to my lifestyle so that I can enjoy sabbathing with you. Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.