Practicing Sabbath Rest
by Joy Walter
REST—why do we treat it like a 4-letter word? The sound or thought of it is very appealing, but we often run from the pursuit of it. Like a toddler fighting a nap, we buck against God’s command in Exodus 20:8-11.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”
However difficult it may be to get a two-year-old to lie down peacefully, a good mother knows that a nap is in the best interest of her child. While a nap for a toddler is a suggestion, rest for the people of God is a command—one of the top 10, actually! We all agree that we shouldn’t steal, murder, or commit adultery, yet we don’t take the command to rest nearly as seriously. As a good Father, God knows that rest is in our best interest. Not only that, but it also brings Him glory as it shifts our focus from our own strength to acknowledging our dependence upon Him.
Our family’s rhythm of Rest
Sabbath became an important part of our family even as my husband and I were first engaged. During this time in our lives, we were beginning to see the beauty in some of the traditions that God established all the way back in Exodus. Taking a complete Sabbath on Saturday was cultivated as a normal rhythm in our lives. As our family has grown and our responsibilities have changed, the way this looks for us has adjusted over the years, yet the importance of it has remained central for us. Do we do it perfectly? By no means! Is there room for growth? Absolutely! But setting aside a Sabbath day has built our faith as we learn (and relearn) that God alone can meet our needs.
Most Saturdays look like sleeping in and then eating pancakes together as a family while we have devotions together. The rest of the day fluctuates, but it usually involves enjoying time together as a family, pursuing a little extra time with Jesus, and taking a nap. As a type A personality, it is difficult for me to watch my house get cluttered as my children play or to see my dishes pile up as we ignore them for 24 hours. However, those visuals remind me of what really matters and the importance of slowing down my anxious heart.
Rest is worship
In his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer points out that Sabbath is not just a “day off”. You know, that day you catch up on all the things you don’t get paid for. It is also not a day to just have fun (although you will be surprised just how enjoyable slowing down can be). As Comer stresses, Exodus 20 says that it is “a sabbath to the LORD (set apart, dedicated).” It is a day for rest and worship. But what does worship look like in this context? Comer defines it as “anything to index your heart toward grateful recognition of God’s reality and goodness.”
The Exodus account of the Sabbath as listed in the 10 commandments recalls God’s six days of work followed by rest (Exodus 20:8-11). The Deuteronomy account of the Sabbath recalls the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt, followed by God liberating them (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). We live in such a fast-paced world of “more” that we enslave ourselves and others. In Comer’s words, “What I really need is time to enjoy what I already have, with God…Drink deeply from the well of ordinary life: a meal with friends, time with family, a walk in the forest, an afternoon tea. Above all, slow down long enough to enjoy life with God, who offers everything that materialism promises but can never deliver on—namely, contentment.”
The beginning and end of rest
Everything in the Bible is sandwiched between the first and the final Sabbath, or in Hebrew, “Shabbat,” meaning to “cease” or “desist”. Genesis opens with the six days of creation, followed by the seventh day of rest:
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)
Here, at the very beginning of God’s word, he shows by example the rhythm of life—work, followed by rest.
Hebrews 4 beautifully illustrates the final Sabbath, when we will rest for eternity in the presence of the Lord:
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11)
True rest requires the work of intentionality. As Comer says, “Sabbath isn’t just a twenty-four-hour time slot in your weekly schedule, it’s a spirit of restfulness that goes with you throughout your week. A way of living with ‘ease, gratitude, appreciation, peace, and prayer.’ A way of working from rest, not for rest, with nothing to prove. A way of bearing fruit from abiding, not ambition.”
This requires an adoption of “soul rest” as Jesus describes in Matthew 11:28-30:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
So, take a day to not set the alarm, to drink your coffee slowly, to turn off your phone and all the noise (yes, I said turn off your phone. The world will survive a day without you). Take a walk, read a book, invite a friend for dinner. Whatever you do, do it slowly and do it intentionally as unto the Lord for the goodness of your soul.