At the start of this year, as I began to read through Genesis, I came upon these familiar words, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Gen. 2:2-3). I started to think about the idea of sabbath. In the ten commandments, God requires us to remember the sabbath and to keep it holy. But as I found myself reflecting on this sacred time of rest, I realized that aside from going to church on Sunday mornings, I haven’t really kept a sabbath or given much thought about how to do so.
Sabbath is a time to rest, refresh, rejuvenate and enjoy sweet fellowship with God. If I’m honest, I have had the habit of cramming work into every day of the week. I can be so driven by my to do list that a day off from the job becomes the day to do housework, catch up on projects, do homework and anything else that needs doing. Taking a rest often feels like a luxury that I cannot afford.
But this time, as I read about how God rested and how he designed us to rest, something hit differently. I am recognizing that the sabbath is more than making sure we check off the box of getting our butts to church. Recognizing the sabbath requires that we intentionally set aside the to do list and take time to actually rest, to refocus, to recharge our batteries, and to set aside intentional time to spend with our Savior. It means trusting God that living a productive life doesn’t mean we have to squeeze work and chores into every spare moment of time that we have. Giving ourselves room to breathe, to relax and to enjoy God’s presence in an unrushed environment opens us up to creativity and to possibilities that wouldn’t have been available to us before. Suddenly we have a moment to paint, to draw, to write and to create. Suddenly we have more time to dream and to wonder about what’s possible. Suddenly we have extended time to spend in nature, to invest in God’s word and to sit before him in worship. Our sabbath time with our Father prepares us for the week to come and enables us to live our lives by His strength and not by the sweat of our brow.
As I process what it means to rest, I am discovering a new application. At times anxious thoughts creep into my heart and my mind beckoning me to do more and to be more. These thoughts can quickly bring me into a place of self-doubt and send my mind reeling with worries and insecurities. I have spent many hours in my life trying to recover from these anxieties by figuring out what I can do to “fix it.” Lately, when anxious thoughts creep in, I hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit reminding me to rest. I take a deep breath and remind myself that everything I do, I do by His strength. I remind myself that I can trust Him and that He is working on my behalf. I remind myself that I do not need to strive and can find peace and assurance knowing that He has already secured my salvation, my healing, and my freedom. I remind myself that I can rest in His heart and His love for me.
This year let’s be intentional about creating room for the sabbath and discovering what true, deep and abiding rest (and love) is all about.
