Lessons From The Garden: Sabbath Day Devotional
Walking to the garden to gather vegetables for dinner, I pause to listen to the crickets.
The sound of crickets takes me back to my childhood. I clearly remember falling asleep each night to the steady chirping of crickets outside my bedroom window. I can picture myself on our regular family camping trips, lying awake in a tent, snuggled warm and cozy in my sleeping bag, trying my hardest to stay awake just a little longer to enjoy the cricket chirps, the sound of the rustling aspen trees, the glow of the golden moonlight. These are some of my favorite memories.
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Finding Heaven In The Garden
From my spot in the garden I look up at the night sky, hoping to see the moon. Instead, I see a mere sprinkling of stars, the majority hidden away behind the artificial glow of city lights. Still, one glance at that faint sprinkling of stars leaves me feeling mesmerized.
Gazing into the night sky and reflecting on the vastness of the universe never leaves me feeling small. Rather, it reminds me that I am part of something infinitely more magnificent than I can even comprehend. Looking into the night sky makes me want to be a better person.
The Simple Things
As I gather nutrient-rich greens and warm ripened tomatoes from the garden, I am reminded that it’s the simple things in life that matter most: the rhythmic sound of crickets, the soft shimmering light of the stars, new life emerging from the soil. For it’s the simple things in life that fill us with peace, restore our hope, and refresh our spirit.
Today was a day of rest.
I’m grateful for the Sabbath.
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Scripture Verses
Genesis 2:1-3
“God rested on the seventh day…”
Exodus 16:22-30
“The children of Israel did not gather manna on the sabbath”
Exodus 20:8
“Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.”
Exodus 31:12-17
“The sabbath was given as a sign between God and man”
Deuteronomy 5: 13-14
“Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Neh 10:31
“We should not buy or sell on the sabbath”
Mark 2: 23-28
“The sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath”
Luke 6:1-10
“The Son of man is Lord of the sabbath”
Jarom 1:5
“And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord.”
Mosiah 18:23
“And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God.”
Doctrine and Covenants 59:3-13
“Offer up thy sacraments on my holy day”
Doctrine and Covenants 68:29
“The inhabitants of Zion are to observe the sabbath day”
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Sabbath Quotes
Billy Graham
“We observe the Sabbath best when we use it for both rest and worship.”
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Senator Joe Lieberman
“The Sabbath and the six days of labor together give us the greatest gifts of all: the gifts of meaning, purpose, and destiny. Rest without work would be meaningless. Work without rest would be purposeless. But together, work and rest offer us the hope of a better life today and the destiny of ultimate redemption tomorrow.” (The Gift of Rest, p. 217)
“The Sabbath is not just a day we observe religiously. It is also a covenant: see Exodus 31:16.” (The Gift of Rest, p. 63)
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Gaye Strathearn
“Sunday is not necessarily a day to catch up on our sleep, but to rest from things of the world, although we usually find ourselves working harder on this day than any other. But it’s a different kind of work—it’s the Lord’s work. Thus, the Sabbath is our weekly opportunity to enter into God’s presence, . . . partake of His glory, and ultimately prepare ourselves for that reality.”
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Charlotte Mason
“The habit of Sunday observance, not rigid, not dull, and yet particular to the day, is especially important. Sunday stories, Sunday hymns, Sunday walks, Sunday talks, Sunday painting, Sunday knitting even.” (School Education, p. 149)
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More Sabbath Quotes
Timothy Keller
“…if we can experience gospel-rest in our hearts, if we can be free from the need to earn our salvation through our work, we will have a deep reservoir of refreshment that continually rejuvenates us, restores our perspective, and renews our passion.” (Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your work To God’s Work, p. 234)
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Walter Brueggemann
“Sabbath is not simply the pause that refreshes. It is the pause that transforms.”
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W. Cleon Skousen
“The Lord also said that keeping the Sabbath Day holy would be the way the children of Israel could show whether or not they intended to continue honoring their covenants with God: ‘Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabath, to observe the Sabbath through their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever…” (Exodus 31:16-17)
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