My Sabbath Experience, Part 2

Observing the Sabbath is mostly, perhaps, about observing God's time instead of our own.

It's about pursuing His will for us, rather than pursuing our own desires for us. And all of that involves our time.

Observing the Sabbath stops our time for 24 hours and puts us on God time…not just thinking-about-God time, but actually experiencing "God-time".

Do you remember that line that people mutter when they are overwhelmed with life: "Stop the world and let me off!" Well, that's sort of what observing the Sabbath does. It stops the world around us, and forces us to get off for 24 hours.

Now, this isn't about relaxation. Our sense of relaxation varies with each of us: some want to go fishing, some want to go to fancy resorts and be pampered, some want to just catch up on reading, some want to catch up on sleep, some just want to "veg" in front of the tv, some want to have a picnic, or get together with friends or family, some can only feel relaxed when all their work is done (and it never is!), but they want vacation days from work so that they can work around the house, working for themselves instead of "the boss."

Sabbath isn't about any of those things. Sabbath is about observing time that is not filled with our things, but totally filled with God's things or with absolutely nothing, depending on what GOD wants.

It is not about us organizing our time in order to FIT GOD IN. The Sabbath goes way beyond that. It's about observing God time in which every moment of it is holy. That's what Jesus came to do. And He DID! And that's what the disciples were in training to do as they followed Him and observed.

As long as WE are in control of our time, it's all ok with us. WE decide to give God an hour or two on Sunday. WE decide when we want to go take food to someone in need. WE decide when we want to give to GOD, whether of our time or our money or our effort, or even our thoughts. It's all good because WE are in control.

But the Sabbath, as God ordained it, trains us to become comfortable with NOT being in control. It trains us to be comfortable with having only GOD in control because for that one 24 hour period we are to do only what God wants us to do…and it is not easy! The Sabbath trains us to be comfortable in losing control; to make a habit out of GOD being in CONTROL instead.

Practicing something over and over again causes it to become a habit, something you aren't even conscious of doing. Practicing GOD time versus our own time, will eventually change our habits from self-centered to God-centered, so that just as happened with Jesus, whenever we are called upon by God to do His will, we will respond immediately, without question, by what has now become a natural habit, in obedience to HIM.

I will give you an example of what can happen when we have not had much Sabbath practice and what I have determined from my Sabbath keeping is the key point of my continuing to keep it.

I had just left the hospital, escaping the confines of the intensive care unit where my husband had been for over a week, anticipating a much-needed "breather" for half an hour or so, from all the stress and worry and discomfort of being in such a cramped and dreary place, and was reaching for my car door handle when I was approached by what seemed to be a homeless person, and perhaps, a homeless person on drugs for he didn't seem quite right in the head. Without a doubt I became a little nervous and as he approached closer yet tried to keep his distance, he asked for money, and I told him I had none, although I probably did have some cash on me, but I didn't even bother to check. All I wanted to do was escape this uncomfortable situation and get back to my idyllic "breather" of 30 minutes to myself. And so he turned away and as he walked off, I heard him mutter to himself in a weary and sad voice "I am so screwed up!"

And at that moment, by heart broke for him. And I was ashamed at my reaction to someone in such need. He was in need of more than a dollar or two; he was in need of the Lord. But I didn't have the time, because I was on "my" time and not God time.

I have known "screwed up people" – I used to be one myself albeit in different ways than he probably was. And wasn't I acting a little "screwed up" myself right now as well? How Christ-like had I just been?

By the time all of this processed through my mind though, he was gone; the opportunity to help someone in need was gone…never to return again…not that same opportunity at least. But I had kept what was more important to me than money, only I didn't fully recognize it at the time. I had held onto my time.

I was pretty unhappy with myself for the rest of the day, but on this past Sabbath when I re- read one of the parables, God's Word convicted me even more:

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee." (Luke10:30-35)

Isn't it possible that this parable has to do with time as well: our time versus God time. Is it possible that the priest and the Levite had busy schedules to attend to, and the wounded man would have caused a delay in their very important workday? Perhaps they didn't want to spend the effort this man would require of them, perhaps they didn't want to spend any money on him, but if they are anything like us today, then it was all about their TIME. Only the Samaritan, one of the folks that the Jews considered to be NOT HOLY, gave up his own time (and a lot of it!) for someone in need.

There is only so much time in a day, and what we consider to be important use of our time, might not be what God considers to be important. If we could take an honest look at our time, whether we are up and running or sitting still and thinking, we might find that we have established an idol out of "our" time because it is mostly about US. We might not even realize it has happened…until a homeless man walks up to us interfering with "our" time….or until we attempt to observe a Sabbath as God ordered it to be done and find that we struggle against it immensely, against the loss of control of our time, against the loss of our own autonomy, our independence to do what WE want when WE want to do it!

That's what I learned by keeping ONE Sabbath Day! Just ONE!