Scripture
Nehemiah 13:19-21
19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load
might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.”
From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.
Observation
Nehemiah recognized the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy, and he understood the difficulty of fulfilling that when the merchants were bustling in and out of the city each Sabbath day. He reminded the people to keep the Sabbath holy…but he also enabled
‘Do Not Disturb’ mode for the city by forbidding the merchants from working and transporting their goods on the Sabbath day.
He created an environment where Sabbath rest was the normal outcome, instead of the difficult decision.
Application
I need to use Do Not Disturb mode a little more often! There are days when the work must happen…but where are the days and moments that I set aside and guard for rest? Good intentions about rest are wonderful…but what proactive decisions am I making, to
create an environment where my soul can be recharged and my heart renewed?
It starts with the simple decision of what distractions I permit and allow. When it’s time for a Sabbath, my email and social media notifications can wait! The task list reminders can be turned off, the calls can be muted, and an environment can be created
which leads to my heart being recharged.
Today I choose to honor God, by limiting my distractions.
Prayer
God, thank you for rest! Thank you for loving me enough to require me to honor the Sabbath. I’m choosing today to silence the distractions and the noise, to fully enjoy your rest and your blessings. The work must happen, but the work is infinite and I am not.
I trust you to handle the things I don’t see, as I shut out the noise for a time of rest.
Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox?
Subscribe HERE!
–
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://www.newhopelegacy.com/soap/
