Isaiah 58:13-14 If you keep your feet from
breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you
call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you
honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking
idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause
you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance
of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Comment
A person's heart is revealed by how he spends his free time. There is debate
in the Christian community as to the application of the laws of Sabbath,
but whether enthusiastically or out of a sense of duty, God has called us to set apart time
to devote ourselves to building up our relationship with God through fellowship,
the Word, and prayer. The grace of becoming a Christian and having one's
sins forgiven does not mean that God wants you to do whatever you feel
like doing. Rather we are to walk as Christ walked. At times that will
mean denying ourselves and taking up our cross, yes even daily this may
occur as we struggle against the flesh, the world and the devil in submission
to our Lord and Savior.
Part of the application of the Sabbath involves abstaining from doing
as we please for a time, from going our own way, and from speaking
idle words. These are to be replace with doing as God pleases, going God's
way, and speaking God's Word. There's a certain reluctance implied here.
For it is implied of those he is addressing that "as you please" is not
as God pleases, or "your own way" is not God's ways, or your speech is
not what God says. Rather one forces oneself to turn from one's own ways,
preferences and enjoyment to devote oneself to God's ways and God's Word,
in honor and submission to God. So not only is "I don't feel like it" not
an excuse, it's actually to be expected in following God's ways.
However, as with many things, once you develop the habit you will start
to enjoy it. Indeed despite the implied initial reluctance, the Sabbath
is afterall considered a rest. What do you do to relax? Watch TV, play
games, sports, read novels? As a person matures in Christ his rest, his
relaxation, his enjoyment comes from doing as God's pleases, going where
the Spirit leads, and speaking the Word of God. Jesus said, "My
food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."John
4:34