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Peace at last!
Who doesn't know that?
Especially in the hustle and bustle of these high-tech times, rest has become a scarce commodity. How much we look forward to the weekend or that long-awaited vacation where we can finally relax. Sometimes, after a hard day's work, we just look forward to falling into bed and sleeping. Rest is one of our basic needs and a very important healing factor for our health.

Our Creator knew all this when he created us. For this reason, he came up with something extremely ingenious. He structured the week so that we can rest for a whole day every week. We read in Genesis 2:1-3:

„So the heavens and the earth were finished, with all their host. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: for in it he rested from all his work which God created when he made it.“

The Sabbath and marriage are the two legacies that our human family was allowed to take with them from the Garden of Eden. If God and our sinless first parents should rest, how much more is this true for us today!

Our hiker was also able to enjoy this special gift from Eden.

The studel of time

The hiker has been on the narrow path for a very long time. And it has certainly not been a walk in the park so far! The hiker has had to overcome many hardships, trials and difficulties. Several times he has looked death straight in the eye. He often lost his strength and could only rely on God. All of this leaves its mark. God knows that.

For this reason, he repeatedly built in various places along the way to rest and recharge his batteries. In this way, the hiker was able to recharge his batteries in the company of people of the same faith and at the source of life. They were even able to have fellowship with the source of life itself, Jesus, and talk to him.

But God knows what makes us humans tick. We quickly lose sight of the essentials in the hustle and bustle and challenges of everyday life. We take little time for God. Instead, we let ourselves be swept along by the whirlwind of busyness. Perhaps we have a short prayer early on and ask for God's blessing for the day. But do we really pause to cultivate REAL communion with God? What kind of relationship is it if my partner only says briefly every morning that he loves me and then lists everything he wants me to do for him today? The rest of the day you live separate lives. Only when your partner needs something do they come and ask for it. Nobody wants a relationship like that, do they? God doesn't want that kind of relationship with us either.

He would like to have a share in our lives. He wants to know what concerns us, what worries us, what we are happy about. He likes to listen to us when we share our heartfelt concerns with him. But what kind of relationship is it if only one person talks and the other only listens? God also wants to communicate. He wants to reveal his plan for our lives. He wants to steer our thoughts in the right direction. He wants to show us what he wants to change in our lives. He has so many ideas about how he wants to help us. But we don't take the time to listen to him. We bombard God with our requests and rush straight back into our everyday lives without waiting for an answer.

The day to slow down

God knows what makes us tick and how quickly we get caught up in the stress of everyday life. That's why he has given us a day once a week to get us out of it. A day to slow down. A day on which we don't have to go about our everyday lives. We don't have to worry about shopping, cooking, cleaning and working. We can confidently put all that to one side on this day. Instead, we can take time on this day for what really counts: intensive time with God, time to worship him (in fellowship with other believers), to study his word. It is also a day to go out into nature and commune with God there, far away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. But the Sabbath is also a time for family and fellow believers. It is a time to exchange ideas, to share and to exhort and encourage one another. One aspect that is often neglected is the following: the Sabbath is also a day to take care of the needs of others. This day should be a blessing for everyone, including the needy and the sick.

The Sabbath is often seen as a day to relax and sleep a lot. But that is not the real meaning of the Sabbath. Let's take a quick look at the Sabbath commandment (Exodus 20:8-11):

„Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; you shall do no work there, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who lives within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed and sanctified the Sabbath day.“

The weekly appointment with God

God knows how forgetful we humans are. That is why he asks us to REMEMBER the Sabbath! We should not forget it. But we should not only remember it, we should also keep it holy. It would go too far to explain all this in detail. But in principle, keeping him holy means letting everything earthly, e.g. work, rest and focusing entirely on God. This does not necessarily mean that we spend the whole Sabbath reading the Bible and praying. No, as already mentioned, it also means spending time in nature or with family and serving others. This includes having enough energy left on the Sabbath for this. God does not want us to work ourselves to death during the week so that we are no longer able to do anything on the Sabbath and just sleep. That is NOT the purpose of the Sabbath!

Incidentally, God is not indifferent to which day we celebrate as the Sabbath. He has placed his blessing on the 7th day of the week, i.e. Saturday, and sanctified it. In other words, God has raised the Sabbath to a special pedestal. He has chosen this day to have a very special fellowship with us. We cannot say that we want to come on another day.

It's like getting an appointment with an important person. This person sets the date and location of the meeting. But if I turn up at that place the day before or later, the person won't be there. It's the same with the Sabbath. God has said: „I want to meet with you every 7th day of the week. I look forward to seeing you and spending a special time with you!“ If we come on any other day, we will miss God. But if we are in the right place at the right time, it will be a great blessing and we will be equipped with new strength for the coming week.

There is so much more to say about the Sabbath. Like about the importance of corporate worship or the principle of Sabbath rest. The Sabbath is a symbol that we rest in God and stop doing our own work, just as we lay down our everyday work on the Sabbath. By laying down work and our everyday worries on the Sabbath, we express our trust that God will provide for all our needs. We are completely dependent on him. The Sabbath is therefore an important symbol of absolute surrender and trust in God. This symbol of Sabbath rest is also shown in the victory over our sins, which is accompanied by the sweet peace of God. So we come to rest in God. If you would like to know more about this, please contact me Contact us!

The second crossroads

Let us now return to our wanderer and see how he experiences the Sabbath rest.

When the hiker has left the ravine of spiritual darkness, he realizes how tired and exhausted he is. He simply longs for rest. As he wearily continues on his way, he comes to a fork in the road. To his right is a beautiful grove, inviting him to rest. When the hiker looks to the left, it looks less tranquil. He sees a wobbly suspension bridge spanning a deep gorge. The hiker approaches the gorge and dares to look down. When he looks down, he feels dizzy. The gorge is dark and cold. It is so deep that he cannot see the bottom. Wisps of mist float through the gorge. It is a very scary and uncomfortable place.

When he takes a closer look at the old bridge, he sees that someone is crossing the gorge on it. On closer inspection, he recognizes a woman. She is clinging desperately to the rotten railings of the bridge. The bridge sways dangerously with every step she takes. Terrible cracking and creaking noises can be heard, as if the bridge is about to collapse at any moment. The woman quickens her steps. This makes the bridge sway even more dangerously.

The hiker hurries to the bridge and tries to stabilize it a little. It takes all his remaining strength. He shouts words of encouragement to the woman.

Finally, she has safely reached the end of the gorge. Relieved, she thanks the hiker for his support. On closer inspection of the woman, the hiker is startled. He cannot remember ever having seen such an exhausted and emaciated woman in his life. It seems as if almost all life has drained out of her. He wonders how she made it across this bridge at all.

Sharing experiences - an important part of the Sabbath

The hiker suggests that they continue along the path together until they reach the grove. But the woman is so exhausted that she can barely put one foot in front of the other. So the hiker supports the woman. Slowly, the two reach the pleasantly cool grove.

A rest area has been set up here for tired hikers. Fresh bread and cool water are available to refresh the pilgrims. The two are grateful for the simple food.

Within a very short time, the woman undergoes an astonishing change. Her pale, sunken face takes on a healthy color again. Her tired eyes begin to shine and her features become more cheerful. She begins to praise God for her miraculous salvation. Astonished by the woman's rapid change, the wanderer asks where she comes from and what she has experienced. Full of gratitude to her Saviour, she tells her story: how she had walked on the broad way for a very long time, how often she had refused God's invitations, but how he had called her again and again and how she finally realized that the broad way was leading her to destruction. She tells how difficult it was to find the path to the narrow way, how much strength and hardship it had cost her to break away from the old life. But finally, like the wanderer herself, she came to the cross where she was allowed to lay down all her burdens. But even then it was still difficult to cross the ravine to reach the narrow path. But God helped her, not least through the wanderer.

The hiker is amazed at how many aspects of her story are similar to his own. He also tells her everything he has experienced so far. The woman has many questions. She doesn't yet know much about God and the narrow path. The hiker patiently explains everything to her. Most of all, he tells her about his encounters with her loving God and Savior.

„Come on, rest a little!“

After the exchange, they both feel strengthened and encouraged. But then they hear the familiar gentle voice inviting them each to a personal time with their Creator. This is where the two pilgrims part ways. God has prepared a special path for each of them.

The hiker sits down under a tree. He has his Bible with him. Now God begins to speak to him. Through his word and through the nature that surrounds the hiker, he explains his secrets to him. He shows the hiker where he still wants to change him in his life. God also warns him of the dangers of the path ahead. In particular, the hiker is warned to be vigilant, because temptation will soon be lurking on his path.

The hiker spends a day of intense communion with God and in nature. The sky slowly turns a warm red as the sun sets. A special Sabbath comes to an end and a new week begins. The hiker sleeps one more night in the quiet grove before continuing his journey the next morning.

Here goes to the Continuation!