Sabbath is one of those Christian words that gets thrown around a lot, but most people don’t really know what it means. So let’s explore that… What even is Sabbath? Why is Sabbath important? What does it mean to Sabbath? What should my Sabbath look like? These are all vital questions that we need answers to; after all “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8) is part of the Ten Commandments.
What is Sabbath and Why is it Important?
Sabbath came to be during the first week of creation. After creating the world, the animals, and the humans, God took a whole day off just to rest (Genesis 2:2-3). Something to keep in mind is that God doesn’t need rest; He’s all-powerful and can’t actually be exhausted or worn out. He chose to complete His week this way to be an example to us. Humans are made to work hard. God makes this clear by immediately placing Adam in the garden to work it and care for everything in it (Genesis 2:15). But work shouldn’t be our whole life. We need time to recharge and recuperate. We can’t go full steam ahead every day without crashing. We also need to spend time with our Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves. We need time to connect with our brothers and sisters. That is why God gave us the beautiful gift of Sabbath. As Jesus explained, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27b). God specifically crafted a special day for us so that we can rest and spend time with Him.
My Squad Mentor, Amy, also pointed out that while Sabbath has existed since the beginning of the world, it is not commanded to God’s people until they escape slavery in Egypt. This commandment is given to the Israelites to be a beautiful reminder of their freedom. Slaves are forced to work 24/7, but children of a King can take time to rest and spend time with Him.
What Does it Mean to Sabbath?
In our crazy busy society, “rest” is a foreign word. We’re never taught what healthy rest looks like, so when need it, we tend to lean towards two extremes to try to cope. Most people either “push through” until their body literally forces them to slow down by getting sick or tanking their mental health or people will dissociate and shut down while distracting themselves by binging tv shows, books, social media, and the like. Unfortunately, neither of these extremes actually give us true, sustainable rest.
True rest can only be found in the presence of God. Resting on Sabbath means intentionally seeking out peace as you spend time with God, connect with your community, and have fun… which is a lot easier said than done. That’s why my next blog is going to give some practical tips that I’ve used to find rest on my Sabbaths.
That being said, please be praying for my team and I as we continue to quarantine. We’ve been struggling a bit to find the balance between resting when we need to and becoming lazy and letting the days slip away.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Exodus 20:8-11
Wonderful, I’ve now read two great writings about keeping the sabbath- So important in today’s busy times. Sports and even good things of the church can draw us away form that fundamental “rest in Him”.. Today’s society even looks down on rest time- Great truths Janine, love that you’ve written this! Always praying for your team.
Thank you so much! You’re so incredibly kind. I can definitely struggle with “resting” without getting true rest. There’s such a big difference and it really does matter.
I love the way the Sabbath is used in all aspects of life you made it clear on things that we need to do if you’re on your own time at church with others I pray for your team all the time I enjoy reading all the Comments that others have put on there it is so true
I absolutely love this post, as well as all these wonderful and valuable comments. Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts, experiences, and wisdom!
I completely relate! Even when I don’t have anything I need to do, I still feel like I need to be busy to be productive.
Can’t wait to see you in a few weeks!
Thank you so much for all your prayers! Sabbath is so so important and God needs to be part of every aspect of our lives.
Thank you! And I totally agree; these comments are amazing! We definitely don’t talk about the importance of rest enough in the western church.
YES! This is so good; attitude matters so much! Sabbath isn’t supposed to be a barrier keeping us from doing what we need to but a tool to become even more successful and healthy. It truly takes a lot of practice and patience to learn how to Sabbath so you get true rest. Thank you so much for sharing!
Janine, thankyou so much for writing this blog. Even in retirement I still struggle to take a rest. It’s so easy to get caught up doing ‘Things’. But spending more time with Him has enriched and had a calming effect.
See you soon!!!
This is such a critical topic and you did a great job of talking about it! I’ve made a practice of keeping the sabbath for a lot of years (legalistically) then tried doing it voluntarily for a number of years and have just in the last couple years realized the biggest piece of doing this well is the ATTITUDE towards which I approached it. When I did it at first was out of obligation and often watched the clock as the sun went down for it to end (we kept it from sunset to sunset). It wasn’t the true rest because I didn’t experience the joy that comes with the right attitude. The voluntary attempt still came with ‘this is taking time away from other things I should be doing’ attitude. Again, It wasn’t the full rest I longed for. The hidden lie I was believing was ‘I can rest once I get everything done.’ Recently, I’ve learned (yeah, I’m a slow learner) that everything will NEVER be done. Now I look forward to that day of rest and realize what a gift it is to have a vacation day, a day to spend with my creator and family and friends without the burden of ‘everything that needs to be done’ – I get a break from that once a week! It’s delightful!