Devotional: Labor Day

“Labor Day”
Rachel Olsen, P31 Speaker, Senior Editor of Encouragement for Today
source: Crosswalk


Key Verse:
Genesis 2:3, “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (NIV)



Devotion:
In 1882 cabinet maker Peter McGuire introduced his idea for a new holiday saying, "Let us have a festive day during which a parade through the streets of the city would permit public tribute to American Industry." A dozen years later President Cleveland signed a bill into law designating the first Monday in September “Labor Day.” For many Americans today is a day off work, a chance to cook-out and hang-out in the lingering warm weather of summer.

A day off from labor, however, was not a new concept when McGuire suggested his holiday of tribute to American workers. This concept of a day of rest was first declared by the Lord. In illustration, God rested the seventh day after creating the world and He deemed the day of rest holy (Gen. 2:2-3). He didn’t call it Labor Day - He called it the Sabbath.

Sabbath is a not a day of tribute to workers, it’s a day of tribute to their Maker. It’s a day to rest your body while renewing your mind by making the focus of the day your Maker and your relationship with Him. In the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is the focal point of the week - not just a day of laundry or list-making to gear back up for the week ahead. The Jewish people spent three days preparing for Sabbath, and three days reflecting on what they had learned or encountered of God during the Sabbath. They were a Sabbath-focused people, and therefore a God-focused people.

Keri Wyatt Kent, author of Breathe, writes, “This creates a rhythm of life that puts our focus not on our stuff or our schedule but on the opportunity to meet with God.”


What does your Sabbath typically look like? Are you truly focused on God, beyond perhaps an hour or so of worship at your local church? Do you emerge from Sundays renewed and energized by who God is and what He can do through your life? Or do you get to the end of Sunday feeling tired and regrettably resigned to start another week of work?



Kent reveals:
“We are created in the image of God, and he modeled for us a way of life that makes sense for how we are created. Here’s how to dance the dance of life, he said: work, be creative, use your imagination, throw yourself into it, whether you are washing dishes, reading to your kids and running a household, or trading stocks, reading corporate reports, and running a business. …At the end of each day, stop. Take a rest, eat a good meal, get enough sleep, and refresh yourself. Take time to think about your day, to notice where God was in it and where you were blessed, and to say, “It’s good.” Then go back at it the next day. And after six days, take a whole day off. And say, “It’s really good.” Spend a whole day just pausing, just reflecting on how really good it is, and then start the dance again, at a sustainable pace.”

That sounds really good to me. May this Labor Day mark the day that you and I decide to become Sabbath-focused people.



My Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord, I want to honor You by practicing Sabbath rest. Show me how to live this way. Meet me there in my time of contemplation, reflection, and worship. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.



Application Steps:
Like the Jewish people, spend a few days this week preparing for the Sabbath. Shop and plan ahead for the day. Can you put a meal in the crock pot the night before? Perhaps purchase a new journal to begin recording your Sabbath day discoveries. Go dig out some Dominos or board games to play together as a family as you reconnect with one another at the close of the week.



If you desire more on this topic, see Keri Wyatt Kent’s book Breathe


Reflection Points:

What do Sundays mean to you?
Do your Sundays look like your Saturdays except that you add church to the list of activities?
Is God prompting you to carve out a day to rest, bless your family, and focus on Him? Will you respond?



Power Verses:
Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (NIV)


Genesis 2:3, “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (NIV)


Jeremiah 6:16, “So now the Lord says, “Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” (NLT)

Isaiah 40: 28-31, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths will grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (NIV)