• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Jubilee Church Solihull

  • Church
    • Vision and Values
    • Visiting Jubilee
      • Visiting Jubilee
      • Jubilee youth
      • Xplosion Kids
    • Meet the team
    • Life groups
    • Exploring Jubilee
    • Giving
    • Protecting your privacy
  • Equipping
  • Community
    • Children’s Storehouse
    • The Alpha Course
    • Marriage
    • Time Out for Parents
  • Media
    • Essential Listening
    • All Talks
    • Blog
  • What’s on
  • Login

What about investing in a ‘summer Sabbath’? Part 3: Faith

5th August 2020 by Simon Clay

What about investing in a ‘summer Sabbath’? Part 3: Faith

Having considered the roots of Sabbath rest in creation and the exodus redemption, Simon continues our series by looking at how Sabbath rest can grow our faith.

Sabbath challenges us to grow our faith

As God went on to reveal His perfect law to His people He threw in a few curve-balls! One of them, in my opinion, is the Sabbath Year (Leviticus 25:1-7).

Remember from last time how the Sabbath gave rest for every person and animal? Well, here in Leviticus God establishes the need for the land to have rest and, quite simply, a day a week is not enough. Instead, God states that the land needs to be left fallow for a whole year once every seven years. These Sabbath Years will allow the land to rest and recover in order to remain fruitful. The Sabbath Year is to form part of man’s commission to care for creation.

Can you imagine that? If you are a farmer or a person who lives in a society which relies on the land producing the food you are going to eat next, not using the land for a whole year presents a huge challenge. It means that your trust cannot be placed in the productivity of the land or the quality of seed or the skill and hard work of the farmer. It has to be placed elsewhere.

Faith for provision

Since it was God’s plan, faith must be placed in Him for provision. The logic ran something like, ‘Just as in the desert God provided a double portion of manna to cover the Sabbath, so here He will provide a double harvest to cover the Sabbath Year.’ A whole year!

Every seven years, a whole year of trusting that God will provide. This will take faith.
So surely for us the Sabbath rest should provide us with a similar opportunity to cut across our culture of self-reliance? Surely part of the principle of resting must remind us that everything we have and need comes from the hand of our Father who generously provides for us? Our Sabbath rest should remind us that worrying about earthly priorities of what we should eat or drink or wear is a distracting anxiety and instead our focus should be on our heavenly Father.

Every time we rest, we lay aside our reliance on ourselves, our programmes, our hard work, our reputation, and give ourselves an opportunity to exercise our faith. That problem can wait until Monday. That email can be ignored while I rest. My boss is important, but my Heavenly Father takes priority.

As we take our Sabbath rest there is an opportunity for us to exercise our faith by laying aside our worry and throwing ourselves onto Him.

Pause for thought:

Read Matthew 6:25-34

1. Check your attitude. Are you self-reliant? Do you think that if you don’t keep up whatever performance you are doing that things will fall over and go wrong? Are these thoughts affecting your attitude towards Sabbath rest? If so, spend some time aside with the Father. Repent and enjoy His embrace.

2. Are you anxious about things and do you cope by not allowing yourself to rest? Read the passage from Matthew 6:25-34 again and also Matthew 11:28-20. If God called the whole nation to a Sabbath Year, how much more can He provide for you? Come and rest awhile.

Recommended reading

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Worship video

The final part will be published on Friday

Filed Under: Faith, Rest, Sabbath, Simon Clay

About Simon Clay

Simon is a maths teacher who works for a charity that provides professional development for new A-level maths teachers. He serves as part of the teaching team and is passionate about seeing people deepen their walk with God through the Word and the Spirit.

Primary Sidebar

Signup for blog updates

* indicates required

Recent posts

  • Answered prayer 23rd March 2023
  • Seeking God 9th March 2023
  • IDEAL 23rd February 2023
  • Prayer is 2-way communication! 9th February 2023
  • Breathe 2nd February 2023

Categories

Vision and Values

Visiting Jubilee

Join us on Sunday at 10:30am
Visiting Jubilee About us
Jubilee Church Solihull
Meetings:
Langley Primary School
St. Bernards Road
Solihull
B92 7DJ
Office:
677a Warwick Road
Solihull
B91 3DA
0121 285 6200
Get in touch
Jubilee Church Solihull Facebook page Jubilee Church Solihull Facebook page Jubilee Church Solihull Twitter page Jubilee Church Solihull Instagram page Jubilee Church Solihull Facebook page
© 2023 Jubilee Church is part of Catalyst, an apostolic team connected with the New Frontiers network of churches, a part of the Evangelical Alliance and a charitable company incorporated in England and Wales (Company Number 8991495 registered charity number 1157124).

How we protect your privacy
Website by Nick Wilmot Creative