What is The Sabbath?
No matter what cultural or religious foundation a society has, there is always a concept of taking a day off. It seems that we innately know that as human beings, we need rest. But we also have an innate propensity to keep going until we collapse. Sabbath establishes a balance between our drive to be productive and our need for rest; it’s not because God needs us to observe it.
In Exodus 16, before we even get to the “Ten Commandments,” we see God say of His people, “They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.” It’s The Lord’s gift to us! It was so important that God gave His people enough food on Friday to last through Saturday so they could rest. God knew that as human beings, we are so prone to just filling our time with pursuits that He put it in the initial rules for the nation of Israel that they need to take one day to rest every week.
Jesus reminds the Pharisees of this when they accused Him and His disciples of breaking the Sabbath rules. In Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Sabbath rest was not meant to burden people; it’s supposed to relieve the burdens of everyday life. God knows we need rest and He also knows we have a propensity to fill our time “being productive.”
In truth, busyness is killing us. Study after study has shown that as an American culture, we are obsessed with being busy. Consequently, those same studies show an increase in chronic fatigue, sleep issues, and unabated stress that leads to more serious mental, emotional, and physical issues. This growing body of scientific evidence just backs up what is already a scriptural mandate – we are not made to keep going indefinitely. We must have a time of rest. Sabbath is not only scriptural; it is also a biological imperative.
An inability to rest reveals deeper heart issues. Busyness finds root in a heart that doesn’t trust God. We cannot worship God appropriately when our attention is divided. Nor can we live in a way that honors God if we are run ragged. It’s true that we all have responsibilities; we have areas of life that need our attention. But we get into a spiritually dangerous place when we can’t rest because we believe that everything is dependent on our efforts. The truth is your world will not fall apart if you take one day a week to rest. We tend to think we’ll take a Sabbath when everything is done. Then we can rest. You and I both know that there will never be a point when that happens. There is always more to do. So, plan for Sabbath, schedule it, be intentional about it, prepare for it in advance and make it happen. Take a look at this month’s Monthly Rhythm to get some ideas for what this might look like in your own life.
Reflection Question: On a scale of chaotic to peaceful, how would you describe your lifestyle now? What steps can you take to move towards rested and refreshed?