Have you ever been in the middle of telling a story and then stopped, stuck on a detail like a name or date you couldn’t recall? Recent studies indicate our memory isn’t the problem; it’s our ability to retrieve those memories. Without a regular rehearsal of some kind, memories become harder to access.
One of the ways to improve that retrieval ability is by regularly scheduled actions or experiences of recalling a certain memory. Our Creator God knew this, so He instructed the children of Israel to set aside one day a week for worship and rest. In addition to the physical rest that comes from such a respite, we gain an opportunity for mental training, to recall that “in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11). It helps us to remember there is a God, and it’s not us.
In the rush of our lives, we sometimes lose our grip on the memories of what God has done for us and for others. We forget who keeps close watch over our lives and who promises His presence when we feel overwhelmed and alone. A break from our routine provides an opportunity for that needed “retrieval practice”—an intentional decision to stop and remember our God and “forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
By John Blase
REFLECT & PRAY
What tempts you to skip rest? How can taking time to rest draw you closer to God?
Dear God, please remember me and give me the wisdom to stop and remember You as well.
In Jesus’ day, the Sabbath had acquired a layer of regulations that God hadn’t prescribed. This precipitated several Sabbath confrontations between Christ and the religious leaders known as the Pharisees. In John 5, Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, upsetting the Pharisees (vv. 1-10). John says that “because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him” (v. 16). Then they took exception to the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath ( Mark 2:23-24). Christ told them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (v. 27). Paul wrote that we shouldn’t let anyone judge us “with regard to . . . a Sabbath day” (Colossians 2:16). He also said, “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Romans 14:5).
Tim Gustafson
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