Hammer on Anvil '

I don't know about you, but I love summer camp! More specifically, I love summer BIBLE camp. In fact, I have been attending the same bible camp since I was 7 years old. Of course, I'm not a camper, anymore. I've served as a cabin leader, song leader, program director, activities director, class teacher, water slide facilitator, table wiper, and about any other camp role I can think of. Why am I talking about camp? Because it starts… tomorrow! After morning worship service, My wife Deanna and I will come home, eat a turkey sandwich, finish packing last minute items, hop in our car, crank up an old FFH album, and ride away to a camp ground that holds many fond memories for the both of us.

But I have to say that the greatest part about leaving for camp is that I had a chance to take a little Sabbath rest this week. My wife and I had the opportunity to go have dinner with a pastor friend and his family. We ate, we talked, we encouraged one another. We talked ministry, we talked spiritual growth, we talked Super Mario Brothers. We came home sometime after 11 p.m. that night, tired and worn out… but my, were we refreshed! Man, did I ever need that! Why? Because everyone needs a Sabbath.

When God delivered the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by the hand of Moses, they had some issues to deal with. Having been in the land of Egypt for about 400 years, their minds were so bent towards the Egyptian gods and their polytheistic way of life and thought, the Israelites literally didn't know how to be anything but Egyptians! They needed to be schooled, retaught… and God did it for them in the desert. They complained, they groaned, they accused God of bringing them out into the desert to die, and time and time again, God provided for their physical needs, in spite of their whining and unbelief. So God provided for their needs by providing them with food, morning and evening. The only catch is, He commanded that they only gather for six days. On the seventh day, they were commanded to rest. Later, God made it one of the official Ten Commandments.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (Exodus 20:8-10)

But why?

"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:11)

What's the point? God created, and now He's DONE! What does He think about it? "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."(Genesis 1:31)

We work and labor to make a living for ourselves, which is a good thing, for God Himself ordained work. But in the wickedness of our hearts, we tend to look around and say "Not good enough. I can do better. If I don't do it, nobody will." Something happens deep inside us where we depend on our own strength and ability to build our little world into what we want it to be. Not only that, but we begin to take the credit for what we've accomplished. The reality is this: God is the giver of all good things. He is our provider. If you have it, it's because God provided you with it, and commands you to use it wisely.

And the people of Israel… gathered, some more, some less. …whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. (Exodus 16:17-18)

Sometimes we don't like to be dependant. "If I don't do it myself, it'll never get done." "I don't need anybody's help." We like to think that we are in control of our circumstances, and anything good that we have, it's because of our individual ability, status, good looks, or intelligence. But God wants to teach us the same lesson He was trying to teach the Israelites: He is the giver of ALL good things. And He commands you to stop, rest in the fact that you're not alone, and honor God. Jesus taught a large crowd on the Sermon on the Mount, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:31-34)

Sabbath is about dependence. I like to depend on myself to get things done. I depend on my own creativity and intellect and bible knowledge whenever I am preparing to teach or preach (or write!), and my sinful heart tends to think that it is all pouring out of me. But when I take a day to stop and rest, I am reminded that whatever gifts or abilities I have were given by God. In fact, God could do just fine, with or without me.

God commands you and I to STOP periodically and SABBATH. "Sabbath" is just a Hebrew word that means "to rest, to cease from labor." We may even tend to feel like our salvation is dependant upon our good works. "God loves me… but He'll love me a little more if I would just_____________." Stop trying to earn your status with God, and rest in the fact that if He saved you, it was HIS doing, not yours. It was because of HIS sacrifice, not yours. You are HIS new creation. "You are not your own, but you were bought with a price." So REST! God commands it! You and I need to stop and remember that we are not in control, and that the world will not stop spinning if we don't keep laboring.

As I get ready to leave for camp tomorrow, I have several lessons and devotions that I am preparing to teach, and an anxiety comes over me, and I hope that I am able to say all the right things for just the right effect. But when the anxiety is over whelming, I need to stop and SABBATH: A full, 24-hour period in which I simply cease doing my work and just rest in the fact that God is in control, and that He will work things out, whether I am involved or not.

What about you? How do you like to take control of things? Are you dependant upon God, or do you tend to think that God will never be able to build His kingdom without your help? Or are you working hard at your job, trying to build a life for yourself, and forgetting to take a rest from your labors and trust that God is in control? God is commanding you: "STOP. Sabbath. Honor Me." Sabbath is a command given for your benefit, to keep you in a right attitude toward God, and is a sign to the world that you belong to a God who is in control. God is saying to you…

'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. (Exodus 31:13)

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9)

Now, take this literally, as well… are you working 7-day weeks? Stop it! You sin against God by robbing Him of His time with you. And you sin against yourself by drawing yourself farther away from Him. Get Saturday or Sunday off, get yourself into a church fellowship with your family, and take time to worship and thank God for providing your every need. Rest in His ability to provide. Don't use that time just to nap, or to play. Deliberately take time to give God the glory for the way He provides, and trust that He will continue to do so. Seek His kingdom first… the other stuff will come. Practice the art of dependence upon God.