Seek god first
We are entering in to a week of looking at Jesus habit of seeing solitude. To
kick off this week, we want to start with the practice of keeping the Sabbath.
What thoughts come to your mind when I mention Sabbath? Is it just a day of not
working? A day of rest? To explore the Sabbath, we go all the way back to the
very beginning.
“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number;
fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky
and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” -Genesis 1:28
Look at the world that Adam had, it was perfect. The story continues in
Genesis 2.
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on
the seventh day he rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day
and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that He
had done.” Genesis 2:2-3
God’s seventh day was Adam’s first full day. God gave Adam a job the day
before, he woke up with purpose. Think about this. God rested on Adam’s first full
day, and He gave us the principle that we rest before we work. God was not tired
from all His work in creation. And Adam was not either before His first day of
work. The Sabbath was not instituted because God and Adam were exhausted.
Adam deepened and refreshed his relationship with God before he went to work.
We live in a different culture than the Jewish people. We tend to think of us
starting our day with a full charge. We run hard throughout the day using up our
charge and recharge overnight. The Jewish people had a different daily pattern.
Their day started at sundown. The first thing they did each day was eat and sleep-
rest and recharge.
Maybe there are some great lessons in this. God set it up for us to rest and
have solitude first. Then we work. Work is not a prerequisite for rest. As we are
looking at the habit of seeking solitude, we can immediately go to the thought of
making time being alone. Solitude is not about being alone, but being with God.
Alone with God.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle
and humble, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.
We come to Him to get rest. Learn from Him and receive rest for our souls. I
do not know about you, but rest for my soul sounds incredible. We all seek rest.
The question is do we seek rest in the right things? Do we seek it in the only one
who can actually provide it. Let us come to Christ and rest in Him. And let us set
time to remember Him, keeping that time set apart.
“Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8
40 times Jesus Solitude was mentioned in the Gospels. We see him getting away
early in the morning, overnight, and for 40 days before he begins his ministry.
Before. Jesus went to be in solitude before. Not because he needed to refilled. He
did it first. Solitude should come first for us.
Solitude is not about being recharged to get us through the week, and it is
not about just shutting down all work. Solitude is about our time with the Father.
It is about being in a relationship with God and deepening that relationship. We
must seek Him. And we must seek Him first.
Challenge today, set aside time to be alone with God. Set up time another
day. Put it on your calendar and stick with it. Not because you need to recharged.
But because we need to be with God. We need to rest in Him. We are weary and
burdened and He provides rest.
Daily Reading: seek god first
Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8
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