Sabbath Blessings

I bowed my head and began to pray before my devotions one Sabbath morning. I felt myself starting to get more and more tense and anxious as I prayed about the things that had been weighing heavy on my heart. How ridiculous, I thought to myself. I’m presenting my concerns before the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and instead of bringing me peace, it’s causing me to feel more stressed. I realized that I was considering the problems rather than the power of my God to work in each situation. I went through a few cycles of anxiety giving way to trust before I decided that I needed to leave my problems alone for a while and do my devotions.

“God, please give me a Sabbath blessing today,” I finished praying. I was really feeling a desperate need to be truly blessed. My week had been difficult, and not only did I feel a need for rest, but also for a regenerating day.

I opened my Bible to Luke, where I had been reading for devotions each morning. As I found where I had left off, I laughed. It started in Luke 12:22, which has the heading “Do Not Worry.” Point taken.

I went to Village Chapel for church, and when we got to the responsive reading, the man who got up front to lead out announced that the reading had been changed from what was in the bulletin. I turned in the back of the hymnal to the new reading and was astonished to see that the title was “Do Not Worry.” Alright, God. I get it. I smiled and prayed a silent prayer of thanks.

When the pastor got up to preach, he announced that he had decided to change his sermon that morning. His new sermon title was, “He’s Able.” The pastor led us in singing the children’s song, “He’s Able,” and I sat back to listen. I truly believe that God had him change the sermon for me. As he talked more and more about how God is able to guide us, save us, and keep what we have committed to him, I felt more and more at peace. His sermon was a deeper reiteration of my morning devotions, and it was exactly the blessing I needed that morning.