Day 8 of 90: Bible Reading Plan (Read Exodus 30-Exodus 40)

Today in our reading we’re going to be talking a little bit about Sabbath; Sunday was our day of rest growing up (which is the day that my family and I would rest), so I felt this came at a wonderful time in our study! Do you ever find it hard to rest? I sure have, but God rested, and He is . . . well, God is God! The Bible doesn’t say He “needed” to rest, it just says the He did. Besides He is omnipotent, which means all powerful, so He has no need to rest from being weary because He’s not capable of growing wearing, simply He rested.

Moving on.

I don’t know about you but I don’t think I could have chugged along through the day I had yesterday, without some rest and I know I need a day of rest to help me in so many things. And while God didn’t rest because He needed to for the sake having the rest to recoup; I’m trying to point out He did rest – and He’s our example.

I wasn’t always this way. Thank God for His grace, I’m so thankful that He is so patient with us and that He is so merciful.

Through my daily living with autoimmune disease His grace spilled out over me and He showed me that I could, most definitely could, stop for a day of rest and He assured me, in His sweet grace, that the world wouldn’t stop spinning just because I stopped. You know what? Things actually got better.

I’d get so frustrated. Seriously. So frustrated before. I’d question just exactly how am I suppose to rest when everyone would fall apart if I wasn’t doing my job? Because as soon as I’d get “caught up” on the laundry, I would go pee, and come back five minutes later and there would magically be a floor full of clothes and a new load of clothes sitting in the hamper ready to be washed. I reasoned that the cleaning for household chores and laundering didn’t actually apply to this resting.

But God, He’s so good to me.

I began to have a bad flare up of lupus and I was constantly sick and it was like as soon as I’d get a “little better” and be able to get some work done, I’d get sick all over again and feel just so tired and run down and no amount of rest could help me feel better. By the way, the doctor always told me that I needed to rest. Rest. Rest. Rest.

Then it happened.

One day I cleaned up the house for a couple hours (the kids had made a mess over the course of the week; mostly the husband) and by Sunday morning I was feeling tired and if you’ve never tried to get an entire family (I’m including your husband and children) up and ready for church school on an early Sunday morning when everyone is cranky, can’t find clean clothes, and doesn’t “want to eat that! yuck“, then please, tell me your secrets! So when we got home and the house was looking messy, ALL OVER AGAIN, and I was tempted to just be frustrated AND complain about it (like that would do any good) BEFORE starting to clean it up; I inhaled a deep breath and announced, “I’m NOT cleaning, I’m NOT doing anything today!”

And . . . I didn’t.

I went and sat in the corner chair and read for a bit, I took a nap, and later I “worked” on a project of mine- except I don’t know if I can call it working, because it was something leisurely I wanted to do, for fun. Maybe that was still working, but it wasn’t working on something that needed to be done or had to be done. It was a hobby. Then the next time (I’m not going to lie and tell you the next week that I rested so well, we had holiday events) but was intentional to keep the house cleaned up over the week and made “freezer crockpot meals” we could just throw into the crock pot for dinner AND I scheduled out three, THREE, days of posts for my social media (for work) and when I got home I didn’t have to do anything. In fact, some of those posts still go off when I’m at church, during sermon, even when my phone isn’t turned on . . . because I’ll intentionally schedule out at different times; I still schedule all my posts for Sunday ahead of time now!

Eventually I started to relax and eventually I began to understand and believe that not everything would fall apart in a day IF I stopped doing everything. How pitiful for me to believe that lie in the first place anyway. Honestly, I can clean the house completely all day long and the kids and husband destroy it in a matter of hours and it will not look like I’ve done anything . . . so really I should be able to be calm about it and not worrying about not doing anything (or at least not EVERYTHING) for a while.

Then one day I went to my doctor appt and she mentioned that I looked rested and asked if I was sleeping more. I told her I wasn’t but that I’d rested the day before. She was pleased because all along the number one thing she’s told me is that if I felt tired I needed to rest. But I’ve always said, “No”, especially if it were on a Sunday because that’s my busiest day, it’s also my designated “Catch Up Day” to do everything under the sun that I either forgot to do during the week or just procrastinated on or last minute stuff that comes up. I always felt that I was saying “no” to myself, telling myself no – that I can’t slack off now, but now I realize I was really I was have to make the choice to rest for me sometimes.

Father, forgive me for my unbelief; that You could still hold the world in Your hands if I stopped trying to control everything. Forgive me for not trusting You to get everything else done that I needed to get done in just six days, because how much can just one being accomplish in just six days . . . ? Okay, I’m sorry for not looking to you for my example in everything in life. (Exodus 20:11)

If you’re struggling with resting, I’m telling you now that it’s not an issue of conflict with your schedule or calendar; there’s conflict in your heart because this is a heart issue. If you’re not resting in God, you’re being robbed of something fantastic! If you’re not trusting Him fully, you’re missing out. I know; that’s where I’ve been. This isn’t some commandment lined with hard fast rules, resting doesn’t save your soul, but it may save your sanity; simply, it’s an invitation from our Maker, He’s bidding us to come find rest in Him.

Just take a break from what you’re doing right now, if that’s what it takes and stop for a bit. Just hit that pause button and come back later if you need to but talk to Him. Pray, tell Him you’re struggling with this; or Pray, about anything, just talk to Him. Sit with Him. Find rest in Him. Get out the Bible and read His word and just rest. We don’t have to strive, we don’t have to crush it, you don’t have to have it all figured out; we simply need to choose to pursue heavenly things over worldly things and DO that . . . Just lay your weary arms to your side, lay your weary heart at His feet, and sit there. He’s abundantly faithful to us and His grace will spill out over you and restore and refresh you.

“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”  Hebrews 4:9-13

“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” Exodus 31:13

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

Old Testament

Day 1 Genesis 1 – 11

Day 2 Genesis 12 – 20

Day 3 Genesis 21 –  33

Day 4 Genesis 34 – 50

Day 5 Exodus 1  – 11

Day 6 Exodus 12 – 18

Day 7 Exodus 19 – 30

Day 8 Exodus 31- 40

Day 9 Leviticus 1 – 7

Day 10 Leviticus 8 – 15

Day 11 Leviticus 16 – 22

Day 12 Leviticus 23 – 27

Day 13 Numbers 1 – 8

Day 14 Numbers 9 -16

Day 15 Numbers 17 -25

Day 16 Numbers 26 -36

Day 17 Deuteronomy 1 – 9

Day 18 Deuteronomy 10 – 17

Day 19 Deuteronomy 18 – 26

Day 20 Deuteronomy 27 -34

Day 21 Joshua 1 – 10

Day 22 Joshua 11 – 24

Day 23 Judges 1 – 10

Day 24 Judges 11 – 21

Day 25 Ruth 1 –   4

Day 26 1 Samuel 1 – 16

Day 27 1 Samuel 17 – 1 Samuel 31

Day 28 2 Samuel 1 – 24

Day 29 1 Kings 1 – 22

Day 30 2 Kings 1 – 25

Day 31 1 Chronicles 1 – 8

Day 32 1 Chronicles 9 – 19

Day 33 1 Chronicles 20 – 29

Day 34 2 Chronicles 1 – 21

Day 35 2 Chronicles 22 – 36

Day 36 Ezra 1-  Ezra 10

Day 37 Nehemiah 1 –  Nehemiah 13

Day 38 Esther 1 –  Esther 10

Day38 Job 1 –  Job 23

Day 39 Job 24 –  Job 42

Day 40 Psalms 1 –  Psalms 21

Day 41 Psalms 22 – Psalms 60

Day 42 Psalms 61 – Psalms 90

Day 43 Psalms 91 – Psalms 115

Day 44 Psalms 116 – Psalms 150

Day 45 Proverbs 1 – Proverbs 15

Day 46 Proverbs 16 – Proverbs 31

Day 47 Ecclesiastes 1 – Ecclesiastes 12

Day 48 Song of Solomon 1 – Song of Solomon 8

Day 49 Isaiah 1 –  Isaiah 27

Day 50 Isaiah 28 – Isaiah 66

Day 51 Jeremiah 1 – Jeremiah 20

Day 52 Jeremiah 21 – Jeremiah 52

Day 53 Lamentations 1 – Lamentations 5

Day 54 Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel 22

Day 55 Ezekiel 23 – Ezekiel 48

Day 56 Daniel 1 – Daniel 12

Day 57 Hosea 1 – Hosea 14

Day 58 Joel 1 – Joel 3

Day 59 Amos 1 – Amos 9

Day 60 Obadiah 1

Day 61 Jonah 1 – Jonah 4

Day 62 Micah 1 – Micah 7

Day 63 Nahum 1 – Nahum 3

Day 64 Habakkuk 1 – Habakkuk 3

Day 65 Zephaniah 1 – Zephaniah 3

Day 66 Haggai 1 – Haggai 2

Day 67 Zechariah 1 – Zechariah 14

Day 68 Malachi 1 – Malachi 4

NEW TESTAMENT

Day 69 Matthew 1 – Matthew 28

Day 70 Mark 1 – 16

Day 71 Luke 1 – Luke 12

Day 72 Luke 13 – Luke 24

Day 73 John 1 – John 21

Day 74 Acts 1 – Acts 15

Day 75 Acts 16 – Acts 28

Day 76 Romans 1 – Romans 16

Day 77 1 Corinthians 1 – 1 Corinthians 16

Day 78 2 Corinthians 1 – 2 Corinthians 13

Day 79 Galatians 1 – Galatians 6

Day 80 Ephesians 1 – Ephesians 6

Day 81 * Philippians 1 – Philippians 4 (Morning)

                Colossians 1 – Colossians 4 ( Afternoon)

                1 Thessalonians 1 – 1 Thessalonians 5 (Bedtime)

Day 82 2 Thessalonians 1 – 2 Thessalonians 3 (Morning)

                1 Timothy 1 – 1 Timothy 6  (Afternoon)

                2 Timothy 1 – 2 Timothy 4 (Bedtime)

Day 83 Titus 1 – Titus 3 (Morning )

                Philemon 1 (Afternoon)

                Hebrews 1 – Hebrews 13 (Bedtime)

Day 84 James 1 –  James 5  (Morning)

                1 Peter 1 – 1 Peter 5 (Afternoon)

                2 Peter 1 – 2 Peter 3 (Bedtime)

Day 85 1 John 1 – 1 John (Morning)

                2 John 1 (Afternoon)

                3 John  (Bedtime)

Day 86 Jude 1

Day 87 Revelation 1 – Revelation 6

Day 88 Revelation 7 – Revelation 18

Day 89 Revelation 19 – Revelation 22

Day 90 – PRAISE!