Sabbath: Finding Rest In a Weary World

A Change of Pace

A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with someone close to me who noticed the symptoms of my hurried, busy, and anxious life. It was a crossroads moment for me that changed the trajectory of my life with God and my pace in the world. I was new to leading a ministry on my own, new to preaching, new to pastoring people, and there wasn’t enough time in the day to keep up with all the things I "needed to do" for God.

My hustle, with pockets of rest here and there, was producing an inability for me to show up in the world the way I knew I wanted to and needed to. Instead of bearing the fruit of peace, anxiety had become my internal normal. 

I knew something had to change…

A new rythym

This led me on a long journey–which I don’t have time to explain here–of diving deeper into the world of spiritual formation, spiritual practices, and a life with God that I deeply desired, but didn’t quite have. (I'm sure we can all relate to that at some level.)

One of the rhythms that I started practicing in this season was Sabbath. Growing up, I never even considered Sabbath as a necessary part of following Jesus. From what I read in the gospels, it seemed like Jesus was against the Sabbath. I didn't realize until later that he was just against the Pharisees' abuse of it, and how they had turned a gift from God into a legalistic burden.

Think about this for a second: Jesus practiced the Sabbath. If a disciple of Jesus is to make Jesus’ lifestyle their own, then practicing Sabbath is one way we follow in the footsteps of our Rabbi.

So what is the Sabbath, and how do we practice it?

When God redeemed Israel out of Egypt, he called the people to set aside a Sabbath day to rest from their work (see Exodus 20:8-11). This wouldn’t have been a command that felt like a duty to the freed slaves. It would have felt like a delight. For over 400 years, the Israelites had been burdened with slave work, with no rest. Burnout and exhaustion were the status quo. Hearing from God, their Creator, that he desired and valued their rest would have been seen as a loving gift. It was a relieving command, not a limiting one.

In Exodus 20:8-11, God also says that Israel is to keep the Sabbath because of His creational design. The Lord created the world in six days, but on the seventh day, he rested. In the creation account, it’s also worth noting that the day begins with "evening," not the morning (see Genesis 1:5). 

The Significance of Sabbath

God designed the world so that the day started with sleep and the week ended with rest. Have you ever considered that the start of the spiritual journey isn’t to work, but to rest?

All that to say, we as humans were created to rest. Whether you believe we have to keep the Sabbath as a command or not, I don’t think it matters. Wisdom says practicing the Sabbath is your body's need by God’s design. Think about it: Your physical body was created by God to work six days and then rest on the seventh. You may not be required to keep the Sabbath, but it would arguably be foolish not to. In our culture, we work for rest. God desires you to work from rest.

I wonder if this explains so much of our inability to love others the way we desire? I wonder if this is one of the reasons we are crushed with debilitating anxiety as a culture? Have we simply ignored or forgotten God’s built-in design for work and rest?

Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) I love this verse, but the question I have is: how? We all want the rest of Jesus. I want it, and my guess is you want it too. But how do we actually access that rest? One of the ways we access that rest is through practicing Sabbath.

Here’s how you start

Simply set aside 24 hours in your week to stop all paid and unpaid work. We can put our work aside as an act of surrender, trusting that God works when we don’t. After you stop your work, take the day to rest. If you can, sleep. Jesus took naps, by the way… (Mark 4:38). Use the time to physically and emotionally rejuvenate your body. The Sabbath is also a time to delight. What gives you life, makes you feel energized, and inspires your heart? Take time to delight in the good gifts of God’s creation: community, food, coffee, hiking, etc. Lastly, the Sabbath is not just a day off, but a day of worship. Find ways to creatively connect with God that are easily enjoyable for you. Whether that’s Sunday morning worship, prayer walking around a park, reading the Scriptures in a coffee shop, or having an intentional spiritual conversation with a friend. Use the space you have in your Sabbath to connect with God in ways you normally can’t through the week.

Like every spiritual discipline, there is a learning curve–different seasons of life, and also different stages of our discipleship that will affect our practice and experience of this ancient rhythm. The starting place is simply that: to start. Start with your family or grab a group of friends. Try it together and see what God has in store for you. Maybe the rest you long for is in the space of this 24-hour day that God is inviting you into with him? Maybe the love you desire to show others isn’t possible with your current pace of life, and God wants to fill your cup in this practice so that you can actually be poured out? Maybe your weariness and anxiety can actually be met with the peace of God in this discipline?

I invite you to take Jesus up on his offer to find rest in a weary world.

Click here to join us for our upcoming Spiritual Formation Cohort: Sabbath (starting April 7)