I’VE NOTICED SOMETHING ABOUT CLICHÉ BANTER in our culture. Ask someone, “How are you?” and you’re likely to get one of two answers. “Fine,” or more often now, “Busy!” That’s often followed by a conversational one-upmanship as we compare how busy we all are. Why has this become expected small talk? Because we are busy!
How do we go beyond talking about our lives in terms that are bigger than busyness and activity? There’s only one answer that I see in all of the Bible. It’s a simple way, but not an easy way.
Sabbath. Yes, Sabbath.
What is Sabbath? Sabbath goes back to the dawn of time, when the human race first entered the rat race. It comes from the Hebrew word, Shabbat, which means “rest, cease.” To sabbath is to stop. We see it in the opening of God’s story:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:1-3)
The creation week includes seven days, even though the creating was done in six. The efficiency expert in us says, “Cut a day.” Yet God chooses to write a seventh day of rest… a Shabbat… into the story. Why? God did not need rest. He is not taking a day off. In fact, the Sabbath is a full day. It was a special day that God delighted in His work. The seventh day is a full day of joyful rest. Again, why?
Because God is not a machine who exists merely to produce. And we, who are made in His image, are not machines who exist to produce. God is a lover and a worker who purposefully stopped to enjoy His creative work. And in His creation story, we get our rhythm of life.
Man and woman were made on the sixth day of creation and given a command to work the garden. Yet God declared a Sabbath rest on the seventh day. So what did Adam and Eve do on their first day of life? They rested with God. They enjoyed His work. Then out of that rest, out of delighting in His work, Adam and Eve began their work in the garden. We see our rhythm of life here. We don’t just rest from our work. We work from our rest.
Fast forward from the Genesis creation story to the second book of Bible, Exodus. God called a nation, Israel, to have a special relationship with Him. They slaved without rest for 400 years under Egyptian rule. God delivered them miraculously, led them to Mt. Sinai, and gave them a new way of living called the Ten Commandments.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth… but he rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 20:8-11)
Rest is God’s fourth commandment, not His fourth good suggestion. I would never treat the command to not murder as optional, but I tend to treat the command for Sabbath rest like it is just good advice from my dentist.
Israel’s leaders tried to ensure obedience to the Law by spelling out what constituted work. By the time of Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees had so clarified rest that their laws were an exhausting burden. Into this, Jesus says—“All you who are weary and weighed down by this kind of religion, come to me and I’ll give you rest.”
To be clear, everything in the Old Testament, including the Law, points to Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of the Law. Therefore, in Christ, we have been freed from a religious system of keeping the Sabbath day. We are no longer tied to a specific seventh day of rest (which is Saturday for Jews).
However, we fool ourselves when we think we no longer need a regular rhythm of rest! And our modern practice of vacation is not an adequate replacement. (How often have we said after a vacation, “I need a vacation!”?) Not only that, the math doesn’t work. We can’t make 14 days of vacation equate to 52 days of rest. We still need a weekly rhythm of rest!
So, why Sabbath? God gives us two main reasons for His command to take a weekly rhythm of rest. First, Sabbath is a reminder:
You shall surely observe My Sabbaths… that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (Exodus 31:12)
A rhythm of rest pushes the pause button on life and reminds us that we don’t hold things together. God does. He is the center of our life and work. Second, Sabbath is a refresher:
Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work… so that you may be refreshed. (Exodus 23:12)
I don’t live well without regular reminders and refreshment from God. Without them, my life begins to look as frazzled and distracted as my friends who don’t know Jesus. Even worse; I add church stuff into my schedule. Sabbath is God’s antidote to hurry and worry. It’s a reminder that cures worry and a refresher that cures hurry.
How do we observe Sabbath? Here’s the great thing about being free from the religious burden of Law—we have freedom in how to practice God’s rhythm of rest. I know a Mosaic family who rests from 4:00 on Saturday to 4:00 on Sunday each week. They start their day of rest by worshiping and serving at church, then rest throughout the next day. Then they crank things up on Sunday night to get ready for the week. We have lots of flexibility in how to rest, as long as we make sure to rest.
Psalm 92 is the only psalm that specifically states that it is for the Sabbath. It has insights in how we can do sabbath-rest well:
It is good to praise the LORD and make music to (play in honor of) your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. (Psalm 92:1-2)
We see two main activities here—pray and play. Godly rest includes reflecting on the goodness of God: prayer. It also includes leisure that refreshes: play. Both are part of Sabbath rest. And notice that it lasts for the whole day: morning to night. According to God, this makes for “good” rest!
Haven’t you seen that too? Take the joy and fun out of a day of rest and it kills the gift. Yet make rest all about frantic recreation and it leaves you exhausted. We need both prayer and play in order to be reminded and refreshed. That’s a life-giving rhythm!
Dallas Willard, Soul Keeping
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life… give yourself the gift of an unhurried day.
John Ortberg, Soul Keeping
The soul craves rest. The soul knows only borrowed strength. The soul was made to rest in God the way a tree rests in soil.
Thoughts from Pete Scazzero on Sabbath-keeping:
Sabbath-keeping requires significant thought and advance planning.It also requires defining and maintaining boundaries on how you use your Sabbath time…
Identify a twenty-four-hour block of time
They key is to land on one consistent Sabbath day (rather than hopping around on different days). A consistent Sabbath day is essential for creating a meaningful and balanced rhythm of work and rest in your weeks.
Make a list of what brings you delight
The key question here is, What can I do that would bring me delight because it feels like play?
Prepare in advance
Identify unpaid work you usually attend to on your day off and make time to do it during the week. If you fail to prepare, you will no doubt end up doing unpaid work during your Sabbath.
Define your protective “container” — and then experiment
…identify the rules and limits of what you will and will not do on Sabbath. Here you are to respond to questions such as, What will make this Sabbath day different from business as usual on the other six days of the week? And, What do I need to do (no not do) to protect my ability to rest on this day?
On Sabbath, I will…
– Mark the official start of Sabbath by lighting a candle and giving thanks.
– Spend intentional time listening to God in Scripture, prayer, and silence.
– Expose myself to the beautiful works of God’s creation, either outdoors in nature of through art (music, drama, visual art, etc.).
On Sabbath, I will not…
– Look at Twitter or Facebook or read any work-related emails.
– Talk about or engage in any work-related tasks (unless there is a true emergency).
– Try to catch up on household chores or errands that have been left undone.
There is no such thing as a definitive list that applies to everyone…
Once you create your container, practice these Sabbath boundaries for at least four to six weeks. You can count on it being both disruptive and challenging in the beginning, so give yourself some time…
[Sabbath] is… the one day of the week I most believe — and live out — a fundamental truth of the gospel. How? I do nothing productive, and yet I am utterly loved.Four Foundational Characteristics of Sabbath
1. Stop
Sabbath is first and foremost a day when we cease all work — paid and unpaid. On the Sabbath we embrace our limits. We let go of the illusion that we are indispensable to the running of the world we recognize we will never finish all our goals and projects, and that God is on the throne, managing quite well in ruling the universe without our help.
2. Rest
Once we stop, we accept God’s invitation to rest. God rested after his work of creation. Every seventh day, we are to do the same (Genesis 2:1-4). We engage in activities that restore and replenish us — from napping, hiking, reading, and eating good farro to enjoying hobbies and playing sports. The key is to rest from both paid and unpaid work.
Resting from unpaid work, however, requires advance planning. If I am to have any hope of enjoying a Sabbath rest, I need to set aside time during the week to attend to the routine tasks of life I won’t do on Sabbath — paying bills, cleaning of fixing something around the house, doing laundry, and balancing the checkbook, etc.
3. Delight
After finishing his work of creation, God pronounced it “very good.” This was not an anemic afterthought — Oh well, it’s nice to be done with that — but a joyful recognition and celebration of accomplishment. As part of observing Sabbath, God invites us to join in the celebration, to enjoy and delight in his creation and all the gifts he offers using it. These innumerable gifts come to us in many forms, including people, places, and things.
As part of preparing to practice the Sabbath, one of the most important questions to consider is, “What gives me joy and delight?”
4. Contemplate
Gerard Manley Hopkins
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
On Sabbath, we intentionally look for his grandeur in everything…
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Unless one learns how to relish the taste of Sabbath while still in this world, unless one is initiates in the appreciation of eternal life, one will be unable to enjoy the taste of eternity in the world to come… The essence of the world to come is Sabbath eternal, an the seventh day in time is an example of eternity.
PROCESS
Here is a Scripture devotional and a key quote or two to help you consider the spiritual rhythm of Sabbath this week individually and with others.
Read Psalm 92.
– What stands out to you about this “song for the Sabbath?”
– Who is God in this Psalm and how is He celebrated?
– How is it significant that God’s work is celebrated in this song of rest?
– Why is it important to trust God’s victory over evil in a day of rest?
– What are all the benefits of God, His work, and our rest in this Psalm?
– What would it look like to give yourself an “unhurried day” using this Psalm as a guide and encouragement?
PRACTICE:
Here is a daily Scripture reading plan with some practical suggestions to help you get started in your next step of growth in spiritual rhythms. Consider this Scripture reading plan and suggestions this week.
1. Psalm 92 – Ask God to assess your rhythm of rest.
2. Genesis 2:1-3 – Notice God setting the rhythm for work and rest.
3. Exodus 20:8-11 – Notice God commanding His people to follow His rhythm of work and rest.
4. Exodus 31:12-16, 23:12 – Notice God’s purpose for the Sabbath rhythm.
5. Matthew 11:28-30 – Use a day of rest to remember Jesus and be refreshed through recreation in an unhurried, work-free way.
RESOURCES
Introductory: Soul Keeping by John Ortberg
Intermediate: The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan
Advanced: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero