Remember the day of worship by observing it as a holy day. You have six days to do all your work. The seventh day is the day of worship dedicated to the Lord your God. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the foreigners living in your city must never do any work on that day. In six days the Lord made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He didn’t work on the seventh day. That’s why the Lord blessed the day he stopped his work and set this day apart as holy. [Exodus 20:8-11 (GW)]

Why does God care that we set aside one day of the week to stop work? Can’t we worship him while we’re working? Perhaps it is a matter of trust. We must trust God that we can accomplish all that needs to be done in six days. He did! We must trust that our world really won’t crumble if we take a personal day and allow God to refresh us. The Israelites had to trust that they had gathered enough manna on the sixth day to feed them on the seventh. Our Sabbath (whatever day of the week we may observe) is a day to get rid of distractions and put God squarely at the center of our lives. It’s a day to turn off the world and tune in to God.

Help me, O Lord, to celebrate you and life’s blessings on this my Sabbath day.