Week 19 – Relationship Building

After a busy holiday season, it was refreshing to have Sabbath! It is
a reality check which brings me back into focus spiritually, mentally
and physically.

I started reading a book on Sabbath this weekend. It has a lot of
interesting thoughts and perspectives, but I am finding it a little
disappointing. Over and over I find books or articles that say
Sabbath is a time to focus on God. But as they describe what that
looks like, they mention spending time with family and friends, going
to church, going outdoors and enjoying nature, or taking a nap. These
are all good activities, but it seems common to leave out how to build
a relationship with God.

When I was first convicted to keep Sabbath, I felt more than anything
that it was an opportunity for me to draw closer in my relationship
with God. My friendship, faith, and trust all need a lot of growth.
Like any other relationship, it grows by spending time with Him. I
get to know Him the most when I give Him my undivided attention.

Should getting one-on-one with our Lord be the highest priority on
Sabbath? Am I misunderstanding? As I read in scripture, I see that
it is not about what I want to do, but what He wants me to do.

Isaiah 58:13-14 – “If because of the sabbath you turn your foot from
doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a
delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor it,
desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and
speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the LORD, and I
will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you
with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has
spoken.”

In light of this, I would love to hear your stories this week about
how you spend time with God on Sabbath. How do you deepen your
relationship with Him?

For those who have been praying for my family, I thought I’d give you
an update on our job situation. Some of you might remember back in
Week 14, during Thanksgiving weekend, my family traveled out of state
for a job interview with a Sabbath keeping ministry. This ministry
did offer the media position to my husband.

We prayed throughout the time we were there, all the way home, and a
week after we got home. We felt very strongly before we left that we
were to follow through with the opportunity and go to the interview.
We felt just as strongly when we got back home that we were not to
move there at this time. That was what God told both my husband and
myself. But we did feel like God was leading my husband to start
working with this ministry long-distance.

So after weeks of talking with them and working out the details, my
husband is now working part-time for this ministry while still
continuing his full-time position at our current church. The exciting
thing is that God is opening up other job opportunities all over our
town right now for my husband.

Our hope and prayer is that God would provide a full income outside of
our current church at some point. This would free us to find a
Sabbath keeping congregation. But God has told us to stay right where
we are until He releases us. We don’t know what God has in mind or
how He wants to use us, but we want to remain obedient.

Thank you so much for your prayers and concerns! I am blessed to have
you join me on this journey!

Until next week,
Lisa G.

By the way, my husband is helping people build and grow their facebook
fan pages. He built The Sabbath Challenge for me and it is about to
hit 3000 people. If you would like to experience that kind of growth
on your fan page, you can contact him at this email:
[email protected]. You can set up a free consultation to
see how this can work for you!