8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. - Exodus 20:8-11

Imagine you are adrift in the middle of the ocean, alone, fighting against the relentless pull of the waves. Every breath becomes a battle as the currents drag you under, your arms and legs thrashing in desperation, trying to stay afloat. The horizon offers no hope of land, and with each passing moment, your strength fades. You are drowning.

Then, through the stormy haze, a rescue boat appears. A lifeline is thrown—a rope cutting through the chaos of the waves, landing just within your reach. In that moment, it is not just a rope—it is salvation. Grasping it with every ounce of strength left, you cling to it as the boat begins to pull you to safety. The overwhelming relief floods your soul as you are rescued from the watery grave.

For many of us, life feels like this. Drowning—not in the ocean—but in bills, in work, in endless responsibilities. We’re gasping for air beneath the weight of chores, deadlines, regrets, and the constant pull of everything demanding our time and attention. The pressures of life feel like an undertow, pulling us deeper into exhaustion and despair. But just as a drowning man reaches for a lifeline, we too have a rope extended to us—a lifeline from God Himself. That lifeline is the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is not a burden but a gift from the One who knows how easily we can be swallowed up by the chaos of life. It is a holy day, set apart for rest and renewal, designed to pull us out of the relentless storm of work and worry. God, in His infinite wisdom, commands us to stop—to pause in our striving and remember that we were not created to carry the weight of the world. He gives us one day each week to let go of our labors and anchor ourselves in His rest.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” This is not just a call to cease from working, but an invitation to be rescued from the very things that are drowning us. When we keep the Sabbath, we are reaching for the lifeline God has extended. We are allowing Him to pull us out of the waves of busyness and back into the safety of His presence.

Without the Sabbath, we drown in the constant demands of life. But with the Sabbath, we find rescue—healing for our weary souls, refreshment for our tired bodies, and peace for our anxious minds. It’s not just a break from work; it’s an opportunity to realign our hearts with God, to be reminded that He is our ultimate rest and provider.

Just as the drowning man had to grab hold of the rope, we must choose to embrace the Sabbath. It’s easy to brush aside, thinking we don’t need it or that we’re too busy to rest. But God knows our limits, and He designed the Sabbath as a means to restore and strengthen us. Without it, we will eventually sink under the weight of our own efforts.

So, what does it look like to grab hold of this lifeline? It means dedicating the entire day to God, not just a few hours at church. It’s a day for worship, prayer, Scripture, and fellowship. It’s a day to intentionally focus on the Lord, to rest in His provision, and to let go of the things that pull us away from Him. The Sabbath is a day of holy rest—a day where even our recreation should deepen our love for God and increase our gratitude toward Him.

Too often, we treat the Sabbath like an ordinary day, squeezing in chores, entertainment, and errands as if it’s no different from the other six days of the week. We forget that the Sabbath is meant to be noticeably distinct. It’s a day where we stop focusing on ourselves and our to-do lists, and instead, focus entirely on God.

There are two ways we tend to fail in this command:

1. Sins of Commission

We actively fill the Sabbath with unholy activities—things that distract us from worshiping God. This includes chores, shopping, social outings that have no spiritual purpose, and entertainment that draws us away from Him. If our activities on the Lord’s Day aren’t deepening our faith, they become distractions from the lifeline God has thrown us.

2. Sins of Omission

We also fail to keep the Sabbath holy when we neglect the things God requires of us. Are we truly resting in Him? Are we worshiping with our families, praying, and studying Scripture? Or are we merely avoiding work, but not actively engaging in worship and gratitude?

The Sabbath is about ceasing from ordinary labors to engage in extraordinary ones. It’s not about doing nothing, but about doing the sacred work that only the Sabbath provides time for. God has given us a whole day to enjoy Him, to worship Him, to be restored by Him—and we are called to make the most of it.

So today, let us ask ourselves: Are we drowning in the pressures of life? Have we been ignoring the lifeline God has given us? Let’s repent of the ways we’ve misused or neglected the Sabbath. Let’s commit to honoring this day as holy, and in doing so, allow God to pull us out of the chaos and into His rest.