“The Sabbath was made for the good of people.”
Do you want the current season of your life to close out so the next season can begin?
When we rush from event to appointment to event, and every inch of the calendar has something scheduled, we tend to look ahead, placing our hope in what is to come. We think the busyness will slow down when school ends, summer arrives, the project is done, or the new position at work will provide a smoother, less chaotic environment. We hang on because we believe the next season to be the relief we need.
Sadly, the next season settles in, and we discover the shift on the calendar is only a different kind of busy. We did not receive the respite we desperately needed.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if every week a chunk of our time was allotted for slowing down, stopping all the coming and going, phones were left on the dresser, laughter, and times of quiet filled our home with others and time to ourselves? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this break in the weekly routine was intentionally set aside to nap, unwind, be still, and remember how God is God and we are not?
“Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:27-28, NLT)
Sabbath has become a foreign concept for many, but here we see Jesus making a point to the Pharisees that the Sabbath was designed to meet the needs of people.
The disciples had been traveling and snapped some grain from a wheat field to nibble on because they were hungry. The Pharisees readily highlighted how cracking grain was considered harvesting, which was interpreted as work. There was to be no work on the Sabbath according to the law.
Jesus reminded them that the Sabbath was created for us.
“On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation” (Genesis 2:2-3, NLT).
God did not need to rest at the end of the six-day creation spree, but He did, modeling the importance of rest at the end of our work week. The concept of the Sabbath was significant enough to be the fourth of the top ten commandments for His people. (Exodus 20:8-10)
Jesus explained the purpose of the Sabbath was not about requirements but our human need for rest. Rest is a time of admittance that we have physical limitations. We are not God. The need for rest is not a thing to be ashamed of but rather a time to be honest with our human condition and, ultimately, our need for God.
Jesus, who is the Son of Man, claimed that He “is Lord even over the Sabbath!” Lord, Kyrios, which means He is the Master, the supreme authority over the idea of cyclical rest. The Supreme Authority and Author of the Sabbath does not want our focus to be on the details of how we keep the Sabbath. Instead, our attention is better served when placed on our mind, body, and soul’s need to cease striving.
The question for us of whether to have a Sabbath or not is most often, like the Pharisees, tripped up on “the how,” as most of us would admit there is a benefit in having cyclical rest.
How do we have a Sabbath in a world moved from sandals and dirt to sneakers and pavement, from a camel’s pace to a 70-mile-an-hour speed limit, and a lifestyle of one weekend day of rest to grab rest when you can?
Having a Sabbath is simplified when we don’t hang ourselves on the how or the legalism of having one.
The Three “W’s” of Sabbath
- Wisdom. The first step for creating a rhythm of rest that reflects a more extended period, up to an entire 24-hour weekly time of rest, is to ask God for wisdom. “God give me wisdom on what Sabbath looks like for me? My family?”
- When? Pick a time during your week when you could begin trying to regularly stop doing, and decide how long this time can be. Starting small is a start! Coming from a Ministry family where Sunday is a workday, don’t let the day determine when but rather the best time. The important thing is that you are trying to bring a Sabbath rhythm into your life. Trust God to honor your efforts and build on those efforts.
- What? Determine how you will spend the time. Until the practice of the Sabbath becomes more natural, having an idea of how you will spend your time will be beneficial. Think restful for the brain and body. Think of how you can spend some of your time intentionally with God.
Summer vacations or a job change may bring a particular shift in your energy output, but will it get the long-term solution your soul craves? Consider trying a cyclical time of rest for a season. You might be surprised.
I pray that your imagination captures God’s intent behind having a Sabbath and you seek His wisdom on what rest looks like for you (and your family). I pray that the enemy’s voice be bound and that the impossible turns into a beautiful time of rest made possible. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: God created the Sabbath for me
Reflect: Is there any part of you that resists the idea of the Sabbath? If so, invite God to show you what He wants you to know about Sabbath. What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy? How would creating a cyclical rest benefit you? How can you build a Sabbath rest into your week or build on what you are already doing? What guardrails will you need to put into place to protect your Sabbath?
Rooted: Genesis 1:31-2:3; Psalm 84; Mark 2:23-3:6
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