Dear Precious Friends,
Its Fill our Soul Sunday..
Psalm 118:24 reminds us : This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!!!
This is our day to fellowship with other believers via zoom or in person, our day set aside to worship the Lord and rest. It's also the day of the week Jesus was resurrected... More importantly it's a commandment. If you are like me.. I need a lot of work on this one!
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy". (Exod. 20:8–11; cf. Deut. 5:12–15)
We were created for work, but we were also made to rest. It’s interesting that even secular studies have embraced the idea that we need to take a break and relax regularly (see these pieces in the New York Times, The Economist, and Scientific American). Rest is a creational principle—it is embedded in the molecules of our DNA.
We were made not only to rest but also to worship, and what better day to do so than the first day of the week, Sunday! God gave us permission to take a break once a week by modeling rest for himself. I admit I need to work on this! Here is a great prayer and reminder:
Good Morning, Lord...
I am grateful that, once again, you have offered me a new day as an incredible gift to unwrap and enjoy. Thank you that it is not a blank slate waiting to be filled, but a treasure chest beckoning to be explored. Thank you that it holds the glorious joy of your presence and the reassuring promise of your will. Help me to hold each new experience as a precious jewel, to marvel at and delight in. For this is the day you made (Psalm 118:24). From the rising of this morning’s sun to its setting (Psalm 113:3), may you be praised as I rejoice and be glad in it.
You have already filled this day with so much. Even before I am fully awoke you are quietly wooing me to seek you first (Matthew 6:33). Your new mercies have been put in place (Lamentations 3:22-23), ready to be poured out on each failure and in every moment of fatigue. You have prepared a table of refreshment to replenish me when I feel overwhelmed (Psalm 23:5). Today’s daily bread is there, already broken for me (1 Corinthians 11:24) and its sweet aroma invites me to taste and see your goodness (Psalm 34:8).
As I pull back the covers, I open a page of my life that you wrote before I was born (Psalm 139:16). And as I plan my schedule, I peer down the righteous path you have already carved out for me to walk in (Psalm 23:3). I begin to anticipate the good works you have prepared for me to do along the way (Ephesians 2:10). You are already celebrating my victories (Zephaniah 3:17), already beaming over my accomplishments (Matthew 25:21), already forgiving my trespasses (Ephesians 4:32).
Before I begin the day, may I think circumspectly on the choices you have carefully set out for me. This day may it be: you I serve (Joshua 24:15); your voice I follow (John 10:27); your likeness I conform to (Romans 8:29); your kingdom I seek (Matthew 6:33); your will I do (Matthew 6:10); your glory displayed (1 Corinthians 10:31).
And at the close of the day may I look back and see just how your goodness and mercy have followed me this day as they have every day of my life (Psalm 23:6). Amen.
On this amazing day the Lord has made, we are to rejoice and be glad...
If we were to write our blessings down on paper, even in midst of Covid and the unrest we have in our country.. we would spend the entire day filling pages and pages... We have so much to be grateful for!
May you take time today with Him to thank Him for your many blessings and rejoice in them!
