“The Sabbath is truly not only a day of rest but a day of healing.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’
A few years ago, I spent weeks studying Ephesian 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” And as I did, I came across a commentary written by the Nineteenth century Scottish Baptist Minister Alexander MacLaren, (Measureless Power and Endless Glory (Ephesians 3:20, 21)) His commentary addresses God’s perfection and how that relates to the sabbath.
First it is important to note when I looked up the etymology of the word Sabbath, it comes from the Hebrew word shabbāth meaning to rest or God’s day of rest.
So MacLaren in his commentary shares: “Perfection is the sign manual of God in all His works, just as imperfection and the falling below our thought and wish is our ‘token in every epistle’ and deed of ours. Take the finest needle, and put it below a microscope, and it will be all ragged and irregular, the fine, tapering lines will be broken by many a bulge and bend, and the point blunt and clumsy. Put the blade of grass to the same test, and see how regular its outline, how delicate and true the spear-head of its point. God’s work is perfect, man’s is clumsy and incomplete. God does not leave off till He has finished. When He rests, it is because, looking on His work, He sees it all ‘very good.’ His Sabbath is the Sabbath of an achieved purpose, of a fulfilled counsel.”
Most of the time I feel I struggle in my Sabbath day worship and making the day holy. I know it is a day of rest, but I struggle to make it so. My sabbath is by no means perfect and neither was my week of toil and labour – there were many things left undone. But this is where MacLaren’s commentary is helpful.
Our works and our worship and our rest will never be the perfection that is God’s. He only asks us to make an attempt, to do our best. That best may vary from week to week and year to year but each week we have the opportunity to rededicate ourselves and the day and the week ahead to Him. He asks us to lay down our burdens at His feet, just as we lay down our heads each night, to restore our strength for the coming week.
Recognize that He is willing to forgive our errors and misdirection and wandering off the path. He will heal the hurts, fix the wrongs done and restore all things in the end. If we dedicate our work and our rest to Him, He will perfect what we start. If we recognize His perfection and His ability to “to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,” we will begin to see the miracles in our lives, feel His love and be filled with abundant gratitude.
The Sabbath is truly not only a day of rest but a day of healing. A day dedicated to honoring that which we are given so that we can direct our thoughts to the Saviour, to receive spiritual nourishment, to remember His love for us, to reflect on our blessings and to express our gratitude.
When you come to the Sabbath, you can acknowledge the week and pronounce it as good, then rededicate the next week’s work to the Lord and ask Him for His love and grace (His help) to accomplish all that He and you desire.
I would invite you to consider, as you reflect on your week, what can you express gratitude for?
“The Sabbath is a day of reflection, gratitude and thanksgiving.
Reflect on the past week.
Give thanks for the perfection
of each day,
of the good deeds done,
the miracles seen and experienced
for the love I’ve felt
and all I’ve accomplished because of God’s grace.”Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’