Solitude was difficult for me this week.  Since it was a short week before my trip my mind raced to read texts, emails, and even glancing at phone calls during my Sabbath.  It reminded me to put my phone in another room entirely to remove the temptation.  A thought also crossed my mind that made me feel guilty to take my Sabbath on a short work week.

On the guilt of taking Sabbath on a short work week, immediately this was replaced with what I know was from God:  The Sabbath is not a day off to relax.  The Sabbath is onto the LORD.  It’s a day of rest, as I’ve written in my out-of-office alert, “by which we cultivate a spirit of rest in all of our lives.  It is a 24-hour time period in which we stop all work and set aside the day to stop, rest, delight, and worship.  Matthew 11:28-30, Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20: 8-11.”  Interestingly, I then found Solitude.

Journaling this week during my Sabbath I started by reciting the LORD’s Prayer.  Two words this time jumped out at me, “kingdom” and “power” as in “for thine is the kingdom and the power…” This follows, “And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”  Our earthly life is filled with temptation and schemes of the evil one, our enemy.  And if you’re reading this and wondering what will it take to overcome temptation and deliverance from evil, Jesus says it plainly by welcoming the Kingdom of Heaven into your life and receiving the power of God when your life is aligned with His will.  In short, when your life reflects the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and you tap into the spiritual power of the LORD, you can withstand temptation and be delivered from evil.  More on this in the coming months.