God and Me: Devotions from Time of GraceSample

Introduction

"On the seventh day God rested from all his work."

Why do you suppose he did that? You and I rest because we get tired. Does God get tired? Of course not. He had just as much pep on day seven as on day one of creation week. Did he knock off his cosmic construction activity to set a pattern for his children to follow, i.e., that it's okay to take a day off once a week? Maybe a little. Did he rest on Saturday to decree that Saturday should forever be the day for worship? No.

Chapter 4 of the book of Hebrews helps us see that the main point of the Sabbath is not the day but the resting. And it's not primarily the resting of the body that God cares about (though that has its own value) but the resting of your soul. The deepest meaning of God's wonderful Sabbath is the forgiveness of your sins and having a great relationship with God.

Jesus talked about that kind of rest in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest [Sabbath]." I would like to walk with you through some of the psalms and think about various aspects of your most important possession--your relationship with God. God and me--through our Savior Jesus, it's all good! The psalms are designed by God to give you a language of praise and prayer, written often in the first person, to give you a vocabulary to express and celebrate that Sabbath relationship.

I hope that you enjoy these little devotions. But I hope even more that they lead you to dig deeper into the power and wisdom in the psalms as you grow in your relationship with the Lord, who loves you.

--Pastor Mark Jeske