Sunday can be a hard day for Christians... moms especially - so armor up

It's Saturday night.  11:48 pm. I'd like to be sleeping right now between cool clean sheets. No, more than that, my body needs me to be sleeping. However, sometimes moms simply aren't able to get what they need. The rest, exercise, peaceful chunks of quiet to revive again to do it gracefully another day. And yet we must. We must show up with grace if we get the sleep we need or not.

I'm assuming you'll see this note tomorrow, Sunday, either amidst the mad dash to church in the morning or after you are home and lunch has been served up. You may be tired, as I will likely be, after staying up too late working through some home projects that my husband needed my help on. I'm hoping that here in a few minutes he'll holler, "Okay, I don't need you to help anymore, let's head to bed." And then maybe my youngest won't wake me with growing pains at 2am, and the middle child won't have a nightmare like he did last night.  I'm praying right now for a few deep sleeping, undisturbed hours.

However, exhausted or not, you and I have the high privilege of ministering to our specific families with love beyond our love, joy beyond our joy, peace beyond our human peace, patience beyond our patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control beyond that which we can muster on our own. To top it off we are desperate for His strength, because we are bone weary from muscling through it on our own.

What to do this weary Sunday?

One word. One crucial word that covers your every need and mine.

Abide.

"Abide in me and I will abide in you and you will bear much fruit." John 15:4

However.

Sunday is a holy day and it belongs to the Lord. But don't think for a moment that it is a safe day.  Holy is rarely safe.  In fact, Sunday is the day that our enemy slanders Gods people most - whispering the lies we believe about ourselves. That we are failing, that we aren't good enough, spiritual enough, loving enough. He wants to take you out - you and your whole precious believing family!

Want to fight back today? Here on this Sabbath day? Abide! Armor up with your belt of truth and your breastplate of righteousness and your sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace, and put your helmet of salvation firmly upon your head, that your mind is protected too. Then choose to pick up faith and believe. Believe and abide and abide and believe, and maybe get a nap in there too before it's time to prep for dinner.

But whatever you do... do not believe the lies of the evil one. You are loving and good!  You are loving and good because Christ Himself made you so on the cross of Calvary!

It is finished! That is the hope of Sunday rest. It is finished, both creation and recreation.  Put that in your helmet of Salvation and let the truth of it spill over your head and get you drenched through with peace today as you armor up.

Abide in that, let it wash over your thinking and refresh your weary state today. Abide in that and bear fruit in your home today.

Amen? Amen.

Dear Lord, we ask you to fill us with all the fruit of your Holy Spirit in our lives as we make the space to abide in You today.  Believing, AMEN!