Exodus 20:11 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.
When God set apart the Seventh Day it was after He Himself had worked for six, and then rested. Shabbat is therefore, “primordial” in a real sense, something established from the beginning of time. This makes the pattern of working six days and resting on the seventh something fundamental to human existence, and something exceedingly blessed.
Resting on Shabbat serves multiple purposes. First, it acknowledges and honors the rhythm of creation itself. By mirroring God’s pattern of work and rest, we align ourselves with the order He established. Second, it’s a weekly reminder that we do not have endless sources of energy in our mortal frame, but need time to recharge physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Some have wondered why we don’t send out a Worthy Brief on Saturday or Sunday. We decided this because we all need a break from the cares of this world, and from the bad or sad news our briefs inevitably report week after week. The weekend pulls our focus out of worldly affairs and allows for a different emphasis, one of relationship, refreshment and renewal of body, soul and spirit, for us and our families.
We also believe and have experienced that resting one day a week enables us to actually accomplish more in six days of work than if we go nonstop for seven days. This pattern not only boosts productivity but also enhances the quality of our work and life.
When we observe the principle of a Shabbat rest, we demonstrate our trust in God’s provision, tangibly expressing faith that God will take care of our needs even when we are not working. Our faith and reliance on Him are built up reinforcing the truth that our primary source of strength and sustenance is not our own effort but God’s goodness.
In a world that often glorifies constant busyness and productivity, Shabbat stands as a counter-cultural practice that emphasizes the importance of rest and reliance on God. It’s a sacred time that refreshes our bodies, renews our spirits, and realigns our focus on what truly matters — so enjoy God’s stress management program instituted from the beginning .. until Monday, Shabbat Shalom!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Once upon a time, there was a prince who received a very rare and beautiful bird. He named her Goldie and placed her in a lovely, 14K gold cage. But the poor creature was not impressed by the gold at all. She pleaded for her freedom but the prince loved her much too much to part with her. Still, she continued to beg. In final desperation, she asked that he at least allow her go to her relatives and tell them that, though captive, she was still alive.
Charles Swindoll wrote about these men who bring in animals from Africa for American zoos. They say that one of the hardest animals to catch there is the ringtailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years.
When I teach about “understanding the will of God,” I’d like to talk about a story that is told in all the synoptic gospels, except that Luke’s account gives a significant nuance. (Many skeptical Bible “critics” point out differences in the gospels to argue that they can’t be reliable — yet it’s actually the differences that support the validity of these accounts because they reveal that the events recorded were simply experienced and told from slightly different viewpoints, a very common circumstance when people are telling a story.)
This is a story relayed by Corrie Ten Boom, “It was Christmas, 1944. My sister, Betsie, had died. I was in a hospital barracks in Ravensbruck, a Nazi prison camp. Dark it was in my heart, and darkness was around me. There were Christmas trees in the street between the barracks. Dead bodies of prisoners had been thrown under the Christmas trees. I tried to talk to the people around me about Christmas, but they mocked and sneered. At last I kept quiet.
Over the past few days, one of our servers that hosts roughly 20 different web sites was breached and used to send SPAM. While there was no real damage done, the thousands of bounced messages literally caused the server to shut down. There was no personal information stored on the server, however, the hours spent setting up a new server in the midst of a speaking tour created chaos which we really didn’t have the time to deal with. However, the worst of it is all over, and we’re back! Just as we’re getting ready to launch another website (https://worthy.bible) for the Kingdom … we get attacked from all sides!
From the beginning, we anticipated a time when we would need to produce all our news content. Over the past month, as many of you are aware, we’ve fully shifted to generating articles exclusively through our dedicated in-house writing team. We’ve also expanded as we continue to freely syndicate our news to any online Christian ministry. Operating on faith and independent of advertising revenue, our ministry’s content is driven not by external factors but by a deep commitment to fulfilling the Lord’s will.
I came across an old legend about three cowboys crossing the desert on horseback by night. Suddenly, as they reached a rocky spot, a voice came from heaven and commanded them: “Friends, pick up some pebbles, put them in your pockets and do not look at them till morning.” The men looked at each other in astonishment and began to do as they were told. The voice went on to promise that if they obeyed, they would be both glad and sad. The perplexed men put a few pebbles each in their pockets and went on their way.