Rest stops are a handy thing. When you’ve been on the road for hours and you need to just stretch your legs, get a water or soda, and just breathe for a minute before getting back into the vehicle, rest stops are very useful. Those little pit stops can often be refreshing. The Sabbath is similar. God wants us to take just one day a week, and pause from our work for just a minute and breathe. He wants us to spend a day in fellowship with Him. He wants us to spend time in His Word, in prayer, and most of all in His presence. Now of course, we need these things daily, but God tells us to set aside one day a week for this specific purpose. That way we can be refreshed both in body and spirit. Our bodies need rest, but our souls also need to be refreshed in Christ so that we can be better witnesses for Him. Some look at the Sabbath and see a wasted day, God looks at the Sabbath and sees purpose. Everything God does has a good cause, the Sabbath is no different. Rest stops were made for man, not man for a rest stop, just like the Sabbath, but, even though we don’t need every rest stop we drive by, we do need to use every Sabbath that comes by. We need to take that day and focus on God, spend time with Him. Sometimes an unconventional Sabbath is what God gives. I remember one day, we were driving to church, Mom, Dad, and myself, and we passed this car that had run out of gas. So we went and got them a gallon or two of fuel, enough for them to get to a station, then, when we went to turn around and head back to church, we saw another vehicle broke down. This vehicle was headed to Bristol TN, to pick up a family member and head back to Lexington KY. So, Dad made sure it was alright to haul the car, and we headed back to the house, Dad got in the truck, borrowed a trailer, and took them to Bristol to pick up the family member, and then hauled the car and family back to Lexington. Dad drove over five hundred miles that day, and when he was on the way home, stopped and helped an older veteran fix a flat tire. Some may say that Dad shouldn’t have worked on the Sabbath, but Christ healed on the Sabbath. What Mom and Dad did that day showed the Love of Christ to everybody they helped that day a whole lot more than if they had just driven on to church. I can speak for the three of us when I say that we can have church just as easily helping out others in greasy work clothes as we can driving to a building wearing a polo shirt. I can also speak for us when I say that helping others out has given us the refreshment our souls needed. Even though God used us to provide for others in that time, God has also used that type of situation for our good so many times. He has presented an opportunity to talk about Him in those times and it is something that we praise Him for, which, is the main point of the Sabbath. Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16. Sometimes, it just so happens that God lets us shine our light a little extra on the Sabbath, and when you choose to follow His lead, He will give you the refreshment you need. God Bless!
