In Exodus 16 we learn about a group of ex-slaves whom God had led out of Egypt.

They needed nourishment. So he provided them with manna, a bready source of food. Each day he would deliver just enough for that day. Since he wanted them to rest on the seventh day he would provide double on the sixth day. That would enable them to rest on the seventh (since they didn’t have to go looking for food). “Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any” (verse 26).

They needed to trust God. Would they trust him to provide? Or would they doubt his provision and try to store up food just in case God fell asleep at the wheel? 

This is a lesson for us today. Will we trust God enough to rest? Or will we doubt his provision, jam our schedules, and zig-zag all day long because if we don’t nothing important will ever get done.

When Rosaria Butterfield joined a congregation she was asked a series of membership questions. They had to do with worship, prayer, serving others and Sabbath rest. She wondered: “How will I build my empire if I spend all of this time on God?”

She was being facetious, of course. That’s the whole point. It’s God’s empire, not ours. However, this is something we frequently forget (or willingly neglect).

One day of rest each week reminds us that life is not all about us. It’s God’s kingdom, not ours. He will provide. He is in charge. He will accomplish all the things that matter most. It’s not all up to us. It’s a matter of trust.

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:9-10).

What if we got better at taking things off of our schedules instead of putting them on?

Remember, it’s God’s kingdom, not ours.

Notes:

-*Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Pittsburgh: Crown and Covenant Publications, 2012), 40.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.