A SLOWER PACE

A SLOWER PACE

READ:

Exodus 20:8-11

Six days you shall labor and

do all your work, but the

seventh day is the Sabbath of

the LORD your God.  In it you

shall do no work.

 –Exodus 20:9-10

When writer Bruce Feiler was diagnosed with bone cancer in his thigh, he couldn’t walk without some help for over a year.  Learning to get around on crutches caused him to appreciate a slower pace of life.  Feiler said, “The idea of slowing down became the number one lesson I learned from my experience.”

After God’s people were liberated from Egypt, He gave them a commandment that would cause them to slow down and view Him and the world “in pause.”  The fourth commandment introduced a dramatic contrast to the Israelites’ slavery under Pharaoh when they had no break in their daily work routine.

The commandment insisted that God’s people set aside one day a week to remember several important things:  Gods work in creation (Genesis 2:2), their liberation from Egyptian bondage (Deuteronomy 5:12-15), their relationship with God (6:4-6), and their need for personal refreshment (Exodus 31:12-18).  This was not to be a day of laziness, but one where God’s people acknowledged, worshiped, and rested in Him.

We too are called to slow down, to be refreshed physically, mentally, and emotionally, and to behold God in His good creation. –Marvin Williams

Lord, I need spiritual and physical rest.  Help me

to deliberately take the time to spend with you.

please remove any obstacle that keeps me from

having a more balanced rhythm to my life.

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Living for Go begins with resting in Him.

INSIGHT

In Exodus 20, the Israelites were given the Ten Commandments.  This event marked a significant transition for them as a people.  With the giving of the law and its consequent covenant between God and the people, for the first time Israel ceased to be simply an extremely large extended family and had become a national entity.  The tribes of Israel were the offspring of the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel) who had greatly increased in number during the more than 400 years they were held captive in Egypt.

Have a blessed week ahead.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace