Key Bible Verse: "Now I will relieve your shoulder of its burden; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks" (Psalm 81:6). Bonus Reading: Exodus 20:1-17

Israel lived as slaves in Egypt for over 400 years. They were "doing" machines to build the pharaoh's supply-center cities. They never had a day off. One day's tasks blurred into the next. Observing a rhythm of work and rest was not a permitted option.

When God called Israel out of Egypt, He showed them how to live according to their God-given nature. The longest and most specific of the Ten Commandments is the fourth. (Check it out in today's Bonus Reading.) God worked. We're to work. God rested. We're to rest. The seventh day was the climax of God's week. It's to be the climax of ours. In effect, God said, "It may feel awkward at first, but as a fish is created to live in water, I created you to live according to this design."

By refusing to succumb to the enormous pressure of Western culture around us, we, too, serve as a sign of a free people. We've been called out of a world trying to prove its value by what it does or possesses. We're deeply loved by God for who we are, not for what we do. Observing the Sabbath affirms that God is the center of our lives, and that we trust Him to provide and care for us.

—Pete Scazzaro in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

My Response: Do I get uptight about schedules and performance? Could this be a form of bondage?

Thought to Apply: To fail to see the value of simply being with God and "doing nothing" is to miss the heart of Christianity.—ROBERT BARRON (theologian)

Adapted from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Integrity, 2006) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Help me, Lord, to rediscover the rhythm that You built into Your universe for our benefit.

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