The Blessings of Sabbath
This world is crazy. We are always on the go, fueled by cortisol and caffeine. Always trying to make it to the next thing. We are trying to get through college, get that perfect job, then get married and start a family, have a great career, get our kids off to college, and celebrate their marriages, love on grandbabies, then the prize: retirement! But for those that know, there is a dirty secret about each season: it can still be unfulfilling, busy, and chaotic, and anxiety looms.
With all the hectic, frantic pace of our lives, maybe there is a better way to experience joy and meaning than to always be on the go-- maybe what we need is to slow down.
Today we are discussing Sabbath. What is it, how do we practice it and why should we do it.
Have you ever thought if I just had this, ________(you fill in the blank) my life would be enough?
What if you have it all and it is not enough? I've been there; I've had the “all.”
I have known so clearly what my calling was in life for years. I was able to be a youth pastor. I was living in a great place. I was working full-time as a personal assistant. I had a great relationship with my family. I had amazing friends. I was able to travel, so why was I still
struggling? Why does anxiety and all the “what-if" feel like it is crushing me?
I found myself on a particular morning sitting at a stoplight, realizing I just couldn't do it. and instead of turning right, I turned left, and I didn't stop. I drove further and further north. I ended up in another city, sitting at a coffee shop on the patio in the sun. Talking with God that morning, I realize I had been so busy serving God that I had not just spent time with Him and I had not taken the time to rest. My life was so full of so many good things, but I did not stop, rest and just be with Him.
Do you ever feel like that?
The Answer
Your soul will never be satisfied until it's spent time with the one who made it.
In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus goes to spend time with his friends, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Mary and Lazarus hung out with Jesus as He was teaching.
Martha was busy trying to serve and care for all the guests and Jesus. Jesus was traveling with His disciples, so she did have quite the crew to cook for.
Martha got frustrated with Mary for not helping.
Instead of asking her sister to help, Martha confronts Jesus about it.
He knows she is anxious; He calls her out.
Jesus says that Mary was doing the better thing, sitting, listening, and being at His feet.
41 “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’”
Luke 10:41-42 (ESV)
The anxiety created by Martha’s perspective prevented her from enjoying Jesus' presence in their home. Serving one another is important and we are told to serve each other (Proverbs 31:15, Matthew 20:26-28, Galatians 6:10, Isaiah 1:17, Hebrews 13:16) but there must still be times of sitting with Jesus.
So many times, we do the same thing, and God has given us a way to orient our lives in a way that we develop the margin to experience him in our lives: Sabbath. This is to be a blessing, not a religious ritual (Genesis 2:1-3).
God formally instituted the Sabbath with his people after they came out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 16:23). For a people that had only known abuse, oppression, and hard work, having a day once a week to rest was a whole new rhythm of life. It was a beautiful gift given by God.
How do I keep the Sabbath?
Rest
Remember
Revere
We rest because God first modeled it for us when he created the Earth. On the seventh day, He rested. Having a day, or as much of a portion of the day that you can set aside to rest, is so important.
Jesus also took time to rest; He often would go to a desolate place to pray (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Matthew 14:23).
In Mark 6:31 (ESV), we see a glimpse of how busy His ministry has become. “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”
To sum up, what He said, come apart, least you come apart. Jesus had his disciples come away to rest so they didn't fall apart, and so they could continue on in their ministry. The disciples did not realize it, but Jesus’ ministry was just three short years. Of course, they need to spend as much time as they could doing ministry, but the most important thing was for them to spend time with God the Father through prayer. Jesus was fully man and fully God and still spent significant time resting, sleeping, and in prayer.
Sis, you are not Jesus; how much more do you need time to rest and be with God the Father?
We remember who God is and what He has done. Scripture is a perfect way to look back and see the awesomeness and the power of God. Journaling can be a healthy practice of remembering what God has done in your life personally.
We revere God, who is holy, perfect, and awesome, and there is no one and nothing like Him (Isaiah 6:3). Reflecting on his awesomeness can be done in worship and prayer. Both private worship and corporate worship, I believe, are essential to our walk with the Lord.
The Sabbath gives us the margin to experience rest in and with God--not as just a religious exercise but as a gift of space for love and joy and peace and grace to abound in our lives. But it will take discipline. You may have a hard time incorporating this into your life. Do not give up. Just start. Somewhere anywhere. You will cut out something to gain so much more. Resting is not laziness. Rest is a gift from God.
Practicing Sabbath will change your life
It’s time to rest, sis. Will you join me?
- Christine Martin, ARISE Director of Ministry Relations
About Christine
Christine is an associate pastor at her church, Scottsdale Worship Center. She has over a decade and a half of youth ministry experience and is passionate about the next generation falling in love with and following Jesus. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Christian Studies at Phoenix Seminary. She is confident that if God can take the quiet, shy dyslexic girl and mold her into a preacher and a writer, God can do far more than you can imagine in your own life.
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