Saturday, April 27, 2013
Professor Caterpillar
Springtime is filled with life. This morning I imagined all of the caterpillars that will become beautiful butterflies soon. They go from toil, to rest, to transformed creatures of beauty. With this being the sabbath, it made me wonder why we rest. I believe I found a part of the answer in Isaiah.
In Isaiah 58 the largest portion of the chapter is dedicated to fasting. As someone not unfamiliar with fasting, I enjoy this chapter very much. The point that I have always gotten from this passage until today is that people tend to fast to get things from God, almost like punctuation to a point they are making in and with their life. What God intended was for us to fast to focus on others, and to stop focusing on ourselves and what we think. There are great blessings promised to those that fast in this manner. Healing, sustenance, happiness – all of what we would consider the good things in life are promised to us by God if we make our fasts His and not focus on what we think. What is interesting is what appears after this toward the end of the chapter in verses 13-14 where He speaks about the sabbath.
Isaiah 58:13-14 talks about keeping the sabbath, the day of rest to God. He admonishes us not to do our own thing but to keep the sabbath according to how God has commanded it. If we do, there is great blessing. It was not until this morning that I understood the parallel between fasting and keeping the sabbath that was being made here. It is that same transition. More importantly, I think the point is it is a day where stop our thoughts and doing our own thing, and focus on God and His ways. We reset the clock to zero. We recharge the batteries with God stuff so we can experience the God stuff in our lives.
Isaiah 55:10-11 God compares the words from His mouth to the rain and snow. The rain and snow don’t come down from the heavens and just bounce back up (my paraphrase – sounds like a song), they water the plants that enrich the whole earth before they return to the heavens. He then says His words out of His mouth are just like that – they go out and accomplish the task to which He sent them before they return to Him. In Isaiah 58:14 God ends with the mouth of the Lord has spoken it (the things about the sabbath). So what we have here is a weekly cycle where we receive the words God spoke into us on the sabbath. If we keep the sabbath, if we rest and consider Him, He will manifest those blessings in us that He promised, and those words return to Him accomplished. And guess what? The cycle repeats itself! What a great plan, don’t you think?!
All we have to do is be as smart as the caterpillar…
Prayer
Father, thank You for this day to rest and think about You and the works of Your hands. It is good to shut out the daily routine and to just spend time with You. I very much enjoy Your plan to help us. I ask that You reach out and touch the lives of Your people, and call them to Your rest once again. Call them to receive Your blessing again. Let it begin a revival in our hearts Father. Let those around us see and feel Your loving-kindness, both around us and through us. Let the land be restored. In Jesus name. Amen.