Vacations and the Sabbath

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When was your last vacation? Some people enjoy taking elaborate trips to exotic places, such as the Bahamas, while others opt for less expensive “staycations.” Interestingly, vacations are becoming more of a privilege in the United States, where those working in multiple low-paying jobs have little or no vacation time to spend.

We can be grateful that, in His loving care, the Creator ordained that everyone get regular time off work. “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings” (Leviticus 23:3).

Of course, the Sabbath is different from a typical vacation—as this writer insightfully shares.

Sadly, many have come to see this holy day as a burden rather than a blessing, because they focus on “missed opportunities” for work or worldly recreation—instead of relishing the time God gives us to spend in spiritual, physical, and mental renewal and restoration.

Why would anyone fight against the blessings God seeks to pour out on the world? Even with God in their midst, His people had to be ordered time and again to keep the Sabbath (Leviticus 26:2). Like many of us today, they viewed the Sabbath as a burden that got in the way of their day-to-day routines to serve their own needs—even though God promised them protection, provision, and prosperity if they remained faithful to the commandment. “I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful” (verse 9).

Indeed, it takes trust to rest on His holy day—especially when working an extra day might bring in more dollars each week. Keeping Sabbath is an act of faith, declaring we understand that God provides all good things, whether we labor for them or rest in them. Indeed, Sabbath is so much better than a vacation, which has to be earned. The Sabbath is a gift that abides for His people today: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9–11).

How have you been blessed by keeping God’s day holy? Tell us about it in the comments! And click here for a great resource to share with friends and family as you invite them to enter into the blessing of the rest God offers.

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