Labor Day!

Today, in Guam, is Labor Day! I was interested in the history of this holiday, so I researched Labor Day on www.history.com. The information I found was that in the late 1800s, people were working 12 hour days, 7 days a week. Children were working for low wages, and child labor laws were not enforced. This is exactly what my God, the Creator of this world, wanted to guard us against. The chapter of Genesis 1 details how God created the world in six days. But the passage that is pertinent to Labor Day is

Genesis 2:1-3 (NASB)

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day, God completed his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

In the past year, I have learned the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy, and resting on that day. You see, God understands that we have six days worth of work to do. He understands what it means to have a full schedule. I can't even begin to imagine what God's schedule is like, with taking care of every minute detail of every single creature's life every day. But he gave us a way to get rest, in fact, he commanded us to not work on the Sabbath and keep it holy. It is a day for rest and refreshment, both spiritually and physically. The world has duplicated this idea of a day of rest in Labor Day, although only once a year. God is much more generous and knows that we need more rest than one day a year. Many people believe that keeping the Sabbath is legalistic, and that because we are redeemed in God's grace, we no longer have need for the commandments. It is sad that many Christians do not know that the law is life-giving, if it is obeyed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They are missing the blessing of rest that God has provided for us.

Mark 2:27 (NIV) says:

"Then he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."


When Jeff and I first acknowledged that God wanted us to keep the Sabbath holy, we wondered how we would ever have enough time to get everything done during six days of the week. We both have very busy schedules, and we always have household chores to do! But we decided to give it a try. On Sunday (the day we believe to be the Sabbath), we do not work. We enjoy our family, we rest, and we go to church. We have not yet mastered getting everything done by Saturday, but we have learned to just let things go for one day a week. I can say that I feel I get sick less often and I have more energy for my family, work and God the other six days of the week.

God really knew what he was doing when he gave us a day of rest! The only thing keeping you from your blessing is deciding to accept it!


Today, I thank God that he knows our limitations and our potential. He knows that we work very hard for six days a week, and our physical bodies, and our spirits need rest and refreshment. I thank God that he has opened the eyes of my family to realize our need for his holy day, and that he is giving us the strength to rearrange our priorities and live the abundant life that He promised us! I pray today that God would open your hearts and eyes to this message of how he wants to bless you with rest! Please take the time on Labor Day to thank God for creating this world for us, and for giving us our very own "Labor Day" every week! Praise God for his kindness and his mercy. May He bless you today with the hearing of his Word!

Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)

"Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."


In His Rest,

Sarah