Day 178

I missed my god-daughter’s graduation yesterday. In fact, I missed out on my only vacation in 5 or so years. And it has to do with the way the world is currently spinning out of control. Sometimes I just want to step outside of this chaos called life and just breathe for a moment. Let everything go and walk away from the issues of this life, work, the hustle and bustle, and just rest for a moment or two. And just when my headache seems like it is getting out of control, God tells me that He has set something up a few thousand years ago, just for this occasion. So, I say, I am interested, what exactly could He offer me so I don’t completely lose it. And He whispers “Sabbath.” And just like that, a light bulb goes off over my head and I breathe a sigh of relief. The Sabbath.

I know we’ve discussed it a few times. But let’s discuss it again. This period of a 24-hour “turn-my-cell-phone-off-and-don’t-check-my-emails” is just what I needed. Working from home I no longer have this separation of work from home. And I often find myself answering emails at 11pm at night throughout the week, just to wake up early the next morning to attend a Zoom meeting or a Teams conference. And then having people call my cell phone ALL DAY long, texting me, I am over it! Don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience of working from home, but I miss the ideal separation. And it is not a mistake or a random coincidence when you google vacation that most of the images that are conjured are pictures of serene images in nature. God who is the God of nature knew that we needed to be connected to nature because nature exclaims the wonders of the Creator.

Looking at sunset or sunrise does something to the soul. It almost resets it. Listening to the water lap on the seashore calms our spirits. Feeling the breeze of the ocean or the mountain air brush across our face, refreshes our soul. And when God spoke these magnificent objects in nature into existence, He was thinking of you, thinking of me. Every time He completed a 24-hour period: And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:10. He repeats this cycle of speaking and filling and saying it was good throughout the creation week. Then He gets to what is known as the crowning jewel of creation, and that is His creation of humanity. And when God decided to create us listen to what the Bible says was decided: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26.

Did you happen to see where God created us in His image and then gave us dominion over nature? Not to destroy it, but to take care of it. We know this because when God places His creation in the garden He named Pleasure, He gives them instructions: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15. The word “keep” in Hebrew is shamar, which means: to hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to (Strong’ Hebrew Concordance). God wanted us to protect nature, or first home, to place a hudge about it and to attend or enjoy it. Now, I hope you are sitting down. Because what if I told you God used the same word when it comes to how He told us to take care of…the Sabbath: Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. There’s that word again: shamar or keep. God wants us to remember the sabbath because it takes us back to the week of creation when He created a perfect environment and filled it with beautiful things, and gave it to humanity to protect it and enjoy it. Then on the very last day of creation, He created a space in time and then filled it with Himself. When He completed that He said that: Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” Genesis 1:31.

Something did happen to disrupt God’s “very good” creation. And we have discussed that before as well. But we still have remnants of the very good creation, and the Sabbath which we can shamar along with nature. Maybe you can’t take that vacation that you so desperately wanted, but you can take a break from your six days of work and just rest in the promises and love of God, and let Him keep you this Sabbath. Bon, voyage!