Sabbath: Not Just Another Day Off
You and I often choose ways of living equivalent to running uphill in a windstorm. We're exhausted and we don't know why. We're unhappy and yet we keep chasing temporary highs. We are designed to live one way, and yet are sprinting in the opposite direction. Well, how's that working for you? Are you tired of being tired? Are you bored of burning yourself out each day and then vegging out on the couch?
The following concept is critical to overcoming this rut, but it's also commonly ignored among Christians: You need a Sabbath. This word is thousands of years old from another culture and language, so let me unpack a little bit of what defines Sabbath: It is a weekly, 24-hour time to rest, pray and play.
That simple sentence has a lot packed into it, so let's further define Sabbath by saying what it's not:
It is not just another day off; it's intentional time to energize yourself and bring glory to God
It is not a day to veg out; it is a day to energize yourself
It should not be a day filled with anxiety about what you're not doing; it's a day of trusting that God is God and you are not
It's not 2 days; God designed us to work for 6 days and to rest on the 7th, so don't just unplug for the entire weekend. Engage with life, serve others, and work hard the other 6 days.
Why?
While I have briefly laid out some significant reasons to take Sabbath, there is an even more compelling and foundational reason you should be observing Sabbath every week. Let's take a look at an exchange that Jesus had with some of the Pharisees (powerful religious leaders at the time):
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath." - Mark 2:23-28
My favorite part of this little verbal tussle is when Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." So often, we think that God has stuck a bunch of rules and restrictions in our way to kill our fun. Instead, Jesus is declaring that Sabbath was made as a benefit for us. It is part of the human maintenance manual God has handed to us to help us understand how we function and what will help us run best.
The Work of Sabbath
The beautiful and, frankly, scary thing about Sabbath is that you're admitting with your time, energy and focus that you don't run your world. You are just a steward of your time and resources. God is the king, and he runs the show, not you. This, at least for me, takes a lot of mental and spiritual work. Each week that I participate in Sabbath, I have to intentionally reorient myself to a place of humble submission to God. If I am to truly join in on the joy of Sabbath, I have to crucify my tendency to compulsively run my little personal world down to the littlest detail. Instead, I get to taste a little bit of eternity as I hand my life over to God.
Practical Tips
Budget Your Time
If you've ever tried to take a Sabbath, or even just a plain old day off, you know it quickly goes off the rails if you don't plan out your time and energy ahead of time. I find that Fridays work best for me to plan out my Sabbath time. I set aside some time each Friday (or Saturday morning if my schedule gets wonky) to get ready. I evaluate how I've been doing that week and think about what kinds of things will best energize me. I also leave some margin between activities so that I'm not feeling stressed that I'm behind schedule on the activities that are supposed to be relieving stress.
Here is a list of some of the activities I pick from while planning my Sabbath each week:
Take a nap
Read a fun book
Have a picnic
Cook something delicious
Spend time praying as a family
Spend time talking about things we're thankful for
Play games
Do puzzles
Go on a hike
Go to the beach
Play music and sing together
Watch something fun
Draw
Do a craft
Journal
Set Aside the Time as Sacred
I typically take my Sabbath from 6pm on Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. To make this happen, you gotta budget (schedule) your Sabbath time. You also need to action outside of your Sabbath time to make sure work and energy-depleting activities aren’t going to invade your Sabbath. Set a time to do dishes, chores, errands, weekly task reviews, etc. so you don’t have to do them during Sabbath time. Being a very driven person, I unfortunately almost always head into the Sabbath with open items on my to-do list. But that's ok, and it's part of the humbling process what I invite God to be God instead of me.
Consider the Complications
Each of us has various things in our lives that make taking Sabbath more complicated. It may be multiple jobs, kids, a spouse, or health and family issues. Each can make taking Sabbath time harder, and their difficulty may change from week to week. Don't let that keep you from joining in on this glorious invitation to taste eternity.
For our family of four, Angela and I have to collaborate each week to get our Sabbath on. My Sabbath time involves at least an hour or two being by myself, and making sure Angela has the same opportunity. The fact that I also want to have quality Sabbath time with my kids adds further nuances to how I can join in Sabbath while being a full-time parent and husband.
Summing Up
Embracing Sabbath as part of your regular life rhythm is tough, but oh so worth it. It may take a few weeks or months of Sabbath to detox from your unhealthy patterns and figure out what works best for you, so don't give up if you have one or two really hard weeks. Embrace this little window of eternity as you place God as the king of your life, and let the gift of Sabbath do it's work in you.
More Resources
To further explore this wonderful concept, check out these books that focus on healthy spirituality and life rhythms:
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero
The Search for Significance by Robert McGee
Question:
What time are you going to take your Sabbath? And what is one thing you can do today to prepare for it?