Give It a Rest

Life can get pretty busy at times. A little too busy. Trying to squeeze it all in becomes a test of time management, relationships, priorities, and problem-solving. As the hours pass, you channel your limited supply of energy into work, relationships, activities, and service. All worthwhile endeavors, but if you’re like me, maybe it’s time to give it a rest. Sometimes our hearts long for an oasis, a quiet place to run away. Fortunately, God hears that cry and meets us at the center of our insane lives.

God modeled rest by stopping on the seventh day of creation. Instead of encouraging us to beat our tired bodies into a stressful wreck, He actually told us to replenish ourselves. No. 4 of the Ten Commandments is this: “Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day” (Exodus 20:8). Isaiah followed with this reminder: “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day” (Isaiah 58:13, NLT).

Enjoy it, but don’t pursue my interests? Think it sounds like a paradox? It is. We embrace a discipline in our lives that ultimately leads to rest from work. We refocus our hearts, reenergize our spirits, and reorder our lives around God by setting aside time to rest our souls. True Sabbath-keeping is far more than an ancient, outdated rule; but it’s also more than a vacation from work. Confused? Then read on.

Sabbath Purpose

Jesus proclaimed, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). He shattered the idea of rules for the sake of rules, emphasizing that Sabbath is not about blind legalism. As Jesus broke many Sabbath rules by healing and meeting needs, He revealed God’s love for people over practice.

In Exodus, God gave a command to remember the Sabbath. In Hebrew, the word for Sabbath, shabbat, literally means to cease or to stop.

Mark Buchanan, author of The Rest of God, suggests that through Sabbath-keeping, we remember our humanity. Unlike God, we cannot work without stopping. We need rest.

Deuteronomy, on the other hand, commands us to observe Sabbath (5:12, NIV). It’s a small but interesting distinction. Lynne M. Baab, author of Sabbath Keeping, teaches that Sabbath was originally a time to observe or celebrate God’s freeing His people from the yoke of slavery. In a similar way, we observe Sabbath because we’re not forced to toil every day as those in captivity. We are free to rest.

When we celebrate Sabbath, we are declaring that we are more than our work. Our lives are not dollar signs nor are they our endeavors, no matter how noble. Work ceases to define us because, through spending time with God, He redefines us as His children.

Baab suggests that intentionally carving out time in our lives for Sabbath rest also serves to clear out any distractions in our lives so that we can experience God’s grace in a fresh way. “As long as we are productive every minute, we easily fall into the trap of believing God loves us because of the things we do,” she says. “A consistent pattern of stopping our productivity can teach our hearts that God’s love and grace come to us as a gift. … The sabbath teaches us grace because it connects us experientially to the basic truth that nothing we do will earn God’s love.”

Throughout the week, our priorities can get out of whack. A day for Sabbath rest also helps us to reorder our lives around God, not ourselves. Sabbath is a day “to the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14). Lauren Winner, author of Mudhouse Sabbath, adds, “In observing the Sabbath, one is both giving a gift to God and imitating Him.” We recognize that it’s God’s world, and we stop our interfering.

Winner, who grew up in a Jewish culture, says that despite her attempts to honor the Sabbath after coming to faith in Christ, she regrets that the de-emphasis of ritual creates a challenge to truly set apart a Sabbath day. She suggests that what’s missing from Christian Sabbath is “a true cessation from the rhythms of work and world, a time wholly set apart, and, perhaps above all, a sense that the point of Shabbat, the orientation of Shabbat, is toward God.”

And before we start to get caught up in a discussion of which week day we should actually set apart, Buchanan reminds us that “Sabbath is both a day and an attitude. Before we keep a Sabbath day, we cultivate a Sabbath heart.” The essence of Sabbath is an attitude of the spirit, not an observance of ritual. To cultivate a Sabbath heart, we reflect on who God is. We meditate on our dependence on Him for salvation and even our every breath. And we begin to delight in Him.

“You make a deliberate choice to shift point of view, to come at your circumstances from a fresh angle and with a greater depth of field,” Buchanan adds. “You choose to see your life otherwise, through a different lens, from a different standpoint, with a different mind-set.”

Sabbath Practice

OK, this Sabbath stuff sounds great, you may be thinking. But seriously, I have five deadlines, a boss, a relationship, and a mortgage breathing down my neck. There’s no time to rest.

But Sabbath is more than a theoretically nice idea. Practically, Sabbath is different for every person, but true keepers know the replenishing joy that comes only from Sabbath rest.

If we could create a checklist of “15 simple steps to Sabbath rest” it’s easy to see how ritual would replace relationship, and no true rest would happen. Wherever your Sabbath heart leads you, though, there are two principles that will guide you toward rest for your soul:

Learn to stop. Cease doing what you have to do, Buchanan encourages. Acknowledge the basic meaning of shabbat.

Baab suggests clearing weekly obligations or appointments from your mind. Enjoy “a day without a to-do list.” Honor God through a Sabbath refrain from housekeeping, worry, and problem-solving. Avoid those things that might distract you from soaking up the presence of God. Try to avoid the topics of work and money in your conversations. Winner even suggests turning off your cell phone and shutting down your e-mail for the day.

The idea is not to barricade yourself from the world, but it is to center your entire being on experiencing joy in the presence of God. By avoiding distracting activities, you’ll be more able to draw close to God and to find rest in His unconditional love.

Pursue what gives you life. Buchanan notes that Sabbath is a time when “we cease from that which is necessary and turn to that which gives life.” Engage in activities that bring you closer to God. Read a book, enjoy nature, listen to music, or spend time with friends. Take a nap, dream, wander. Spend time reading the stories of God. Shut out the noise and practice a deeper listening to God.

You know what brings you life and what wears you out. What brings you closer to God and what distracts you. Choose the life-giving options.

The goal of Sabbath-keeping is to spend time enjoying God so that you may know Him and love Him more. All else is secondary. Set aside one day a week for a month. At the end of that month, look at your life and examine your spiritual life. Observe your energy level and your joy.

Buchanan suspects that by giving God one full day each week, you’ll actually discover “more energy, more creativity, and more time than [you] ever thought possible.” A beautiful paradox, indeed.

Sabbath Power

Honestly answer this question: Do you need an energy boost beyond a cup of coffee and a power-nap? The God of the universe loves you so much, He actually wants you to rest so that you may enjoy His presence and delight in His unfailing love for you.

Choose one day this week to trade the “doing” for simply “being” a child of God. Determine what draws you close to God, and embrace a day that’s devoted to the process of drawing close. Then watch as Sabbath celebration colors the rest of your week with purpose, beauty, and meaning. Give it a rest, and drink deep from the Sabbath fountain.

7 Ways to Experience Sabbath Rest

1. Begin a Saturday-night tradition to usher in a Sunday Sabbath. Read a Bible passage, spend time in prayer, or ceremonially remove all work-related items from your desk or kitchen table.
2. Find a friend and encourage each other in the practice of Sabbath-keeping.
3. Take a nap to refresh your physical body. When you wake up, spend time in prayer or read a Psalm or two.
4. Worship. What brings you to a point of awe in the presence of God? Do that.
5. Turn off your cell phone. Let your voicemail pick up. Don’t open your e-mail. Refuse to be a slave to technology.
6. If you can’t realistically experience true rest on Sundays because of your schedule or responsibilities, then celebrate Sabbath on a different day or honor it from Sunday afternoon until Monday morning.
7. Set the day apart with once-a-week traditions or habits that nurture your relationship with God.