Sabbath: The Discipline of Rest
Introduction
What are spiritual disciplines, and why do we do them? Spiritual disciplines, according to Adam Tarver (one of our amazing Enrichment speakers), are “specific actions we practice to draw closer to the Lord and experience more of him.”
This semester in our blogs, we’ll be exploring a number of spiritual disciplines, what they look like, and why they’re so crucial to our lives.
Up first is the Sabbath: a weekly day of rest.
What is Sabbath?
Sabbath rest is about as old as time itself. When God rested on the seventh day from all of his work in creation, he wrote Sabbath into the very nature of the universe. Countless years later, at the institution of the Israelites as the covenantal people of God, He commanded them to keep the Sabbath as a holy day of rest.
Exodus 20:8-11 reads, “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.”
The Sabbath day is mentioned again and again in the Old and New Testaments (check out Bible Project’s Sabbath video for more). There were even Sabbath “years”, known as Jubilee years. Breaking the Sabbath command resulted in serious consequences, and the prophets often condemned the people for profaning the Sabbath. (see Ezekiel 20 especially)
Jews celebrate Sabbath every week from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. They do extra work in the days leading up to the Sabbath to allow themselves total rest in that 24-hour period. Of course, there are also specific rituals and traditions that they follow during Shabbat (Hebrew name for Sabbath).
For us today, Sabbath looks a little different. Jesus, as Lord of the Sabbath, said that Sabbath was made for man and not man for Sabbath. In other words, this day of rest was designed as a blessing not meant to be legalistic. The rituals of a traditional Shabbat are beautiful, but we aren’t required to conform to them when we practice the discipline of a weekly Sabbath.
What does it look like for us?
Sabbath is a weekly day of rest. What day that is and what the rest looks like is a little flexible depending on your life.
Maybe you choose to practice Sabbath from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday. That’s a great way to give yourself a full day of rest, but also allow for time after sundown on Sunday to prepare for the rest of the week. I personally like to Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, because it’s easier for me not to think at all about school or work with Sunday sitting in between.
Whichever day you choose, the point of Sabbath is to rest. That means no school and no work. It also means being intentional about how you rest. Since Sabbath is a reflection of God’s rest, it’s important to take time to rest in His presence. Allow yourself time to soak in the Word, meditate, and pray. Perhaps you want to rest in an hour of silence, or if that feels too hard, you can rest with some low worship music playing in the background.
Rest can also include reading a good book, going for a bike ride or a walk, watching a movie, or hanging out with friends. I would caution against spending the entire day watching Netflix, because you’re not really resting. Netflix can serve as a great distraction for your mind, but it doesn’t allow you to sink in and relax. However, watching a good movie with friends can often be a fantastic way to rest!
The practice of Sabbath is flexible. The most important things to remember are to be consistent with a day and be intentional about truly resting.
Why practice rest?
Hebrews 4:1 says “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” Rest is a promise from God. In fact, the writer of Hebrews speaks of this rest as something that was taken away from humanity because of their disobedience and now is something that we can have access to again through Jesus. Because of our belief in Jesus , we can enter God’s rest. If you have the ability to literally take a day off and dedicate a day to the Lord as they did in the Old Testament Sabbaths, then that’s incredible! However, in certain times in our lives, a lot of us don’t. One of the coolest things that I have seen in my own walk with the Lord without that whole day of Sabbath is the rest of inviting Him in. God wants to be a part of our lives in more than just our big decisions. He wants to be with us always. I find some of my greatest times of rest are in moments where I may be doing a busy task but I don’t allow my mind to be overtaken by the busy schedule or work and instead commune with Him. This week, maybe try that for your Sabbath day! Begin your day by inviting God in and prayerfully walk with Him through it. Start it as a prayer in the morning inviting God into your day and just don’t say “amen” until the end of the day. Ask God to give you rest in your spirit throughout the day and listen. You can build up from these simple steps into a whole day of Sabbath rest.
Conclusion
If you want to read more about the practice of Sabbath, or about spiritual disciplines/habits in general, check out The Common Rule! It’s all about forming habits to help “live a life of love in an age of chaos”. We highly recommend it, especially right now when life is constantly changing and consistent schedules are almost nonexistent.
Implementing daily and weekly habits that draw you closer to God is a necessary action for your well-being, spiritual growth, and ability to lead and disciple others. The Sabbath is a beautiful rest that nourishes your spirit and allows you to go out and love others better. Our challenge for you is to try practicing a Sabbath for a few weeks in a row. Once you get the taste of life with a weekly rest, you won’t ever want to go back to before.
Small Group Interns - Sophie & Andrew