Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
-Psalm 107:4-9 (emphasis added)
“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
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” (He answered,) "I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
-Matthew 12:1-2,6-8,11-12 (emphasis added)
But for the sake of my name, I brought (the Israelites) out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.
- Ezekiel 20:9-12 (emphasis added)
You probably won't read this, I understand. You're probably too busy, I get it. I don't have a tl;dr (too long; didn't read) version of this, maybe I can figure out how to make one.
Or maybe that's the point. Maybe this shouldn't have a tl;dr version and you need to read the whole thing. Maybe this might change your life like it's changing mine.
The whole tl;dr thing fits our current culture perfectly. There is SO much information in our world today and in the online world that there's no way that we can possibly take it all in. So we try to come up with shortcuts to "get the point" of the text before moving on to the next thing. We praise efficiency as the greatest good in our lives so we can do more in the course of a day. Is this what God intended for us?
My wife Sarah and I have started a practice of taking a Sabbath rest. I'll admit, this was primarily her conviction. When she brought this up to me, my thoughts were somewhere in the realm of "Uhhh sure...sounds cool. I mean, it can't hurt. Sounds like a good idea. Why not?" But even when we took our first Sabbath rest together, a LOT of things happened. We prayed together for the first time in years. I actually finished reading a book that I haven't even touched in probably more than 6 months (Sarah commented that she's never seen me actually finish a book. We've been married for 3 years, dating for 5 1/2, and I think she's actually right). The weather was 80 degrees, clear and beautiful, with an awesome thunderstorm that rolled through as a cherry on top. After the storm was the brightest rainbow I'd seen in a long time, probably because I actually took the time to notice it. This was our FIRST Sabbath together.
We were excited to talk to our friends about this day and this practice we've started because of the impact it has already had in our lives. Christian friends and followers of Christ, mind you. What we were met with honestly surprised me. Some folks were joyful for us, but for some we were met with confusion, envy, and to a small extent, derision. "Well, hope you guys enjoy your Sabbath or, whatever, I guess." Wow. Another comment I received was "Gosh, I wish I had time for that." Something that bugs me about these reactions is that this is the fourth of the Ten Commandments! Doesn't it make it sin if we're not observing the Sabbath? Imagine if you were talking with one of your friends and they said "Y'know, I've been thinking a lot recently, and I've decided that I'm gonna stop murdering and cheating on my wife." Would your reaction be "Huh, interesting. Well, hope that works for you."?
So, I'm writing this for a twofold reason. First is for me...this is still very new to me, and I want to reflect on this to define what taking a Sabbath rest looks like for myself. What restores my soul after a weary week? One thing that does that is going the batting cages in the summer...but I wouldn't expect that to restore the soul of a non-athlete or someone who dislikes baseball (let's do lunch, I'll talk you out of that nonsense). But second is to respond to others that either 1) may not understand Sabbath or may hold it in a legalistic light, 2) are "too busy", or 3) would like to start this practice and don't know where to start.
I'll start with a definition of Sabbath. Source: www.sabbathtruth.com: The Hebrew word sabbath literally means “to cease.” Just as God rested from His creation work, we are to rest from our day-to-day occupations and refocus on what’s really important. It’s a day to push the reset button. Taking a Sabbath rest is an act of faith; it’s a reminder that no matter what we do, God is in control. When we cease from pursuing our material goals for one day each week, we’re saying, “God, I trust You to maintain control while I spend this day focusing on You. I trust You to provide for my needs seven days a week even if I only work for six of them. Regardless of how much money I could earn today, or how much remains on my to-do list from last week, today I’m going to rest my mind and body and bask in Your presence.”
One bit of advice that Sarah and I received is that our week should centralize around the Sabbath, not the other way around, where the Sabbath purely exists to prepare for the next exhausting week. We've reframed this in our minds and it truly does make a difference. We work as hard as we can to do our jobs, as well as clean the house, take out the trash, do the laundry and dishes, hit up the grocery store, all BEFORE the Sabbath so that we can rest our minds and bodies on this day. Otherwise we reach our Sabbath day and say "Crap. Guess it's time to do everything before Monday hits." This has even helped our marriage too because we work together to get stuff done. For example, cleaning the house. It is NOT Sarah's "job" to clean the house, however she has a higher standard of a clean house than what I have typically had (Dusting? What's that?), so she has typically done it. But now that we do Sabbath together, when it's house-cleaning time we're both running around and making sure things get done. We work together so we can rest together...I think that's how marriages should work, right?
So here's the thing when it comes to being too busy...EVERYONE is busy. No one's life is easy. Even as I sit here, I can think of a bunch of things I can do to stay busy and fill my time rather than forcing myself to take rest and connect with my Savior. But let me ask a few questions. When is that ever going to change for you? And IF it ever does, what are you going to do with all of your free time that magically became available for you? Are you going to actually consider taking a Sabbath, or are you going to "do all of those things you couldn't do because you were too busy before"?
Everyone's situation is different, I know. I'm only married, have a 9-5 job, and have no kids. Other people have 5 kids. Other people do schooling. Other people work 3 jobs. But God didn't make those exceptions when He issued His Commandment. No matter what situation we're in, we ALL need Sabbath rest. Go back to the definition from sabbathtruth.com. "Taking a Sabbath is an act of faith; it's a reminder that no matter what we do, God is in control." I emphasized parts of Psalm 107 for a reason...when we don't rest ourselves from toiling, our lives waste away. Only God can satisfy our souls. How can we possibly use our external circumstances to say "Hang on God, I just gotta get through this one thing. Stick around, I'll be right with you."? How wrong is that! Guys, Christ called Himself "Lord of the Sabbath" because he is the Lord of work, the Lord of rest, and the Lord of this small world.
So for those that want to and recognize that they need to start this practice, and for me who's still shaping what this day looks like, here's what I've got.
First, we can't think of this as legalistic as the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law did. The question to ask is not "I need to avoid work...what qualifies as work so I make sure I'm not doing it?" but "What are things that restore my soul and connect with God? THOSE are the things I need to do." Few examples...if someone works construction every day, they're probably going to want to stay indoors, maybe take a nap, spend plenty of time in prayer, and read if they enjoy doing that. But for me, I'm a software programmer...my life during the week is on a computer writing code. I don't get much time outdoors, so I might want to go for a run or to the aforementioned batting cages. Those are things that allow me to connect with God WHILE moving my body. No matter what, if something is restorative to your soul and allows you to commune with God, do it!
Today is my Sabbath, and as you can tell, I'm on my computer. It's even my work computer, mainly because it's faster and easier than everything else I own. Typically I want to disengage from all forms of technology because I know that's good for me. I spend FAR too much time on my phone...checking baseball scores, checking out my fantasy baseball team, playing other games, you name it. So I leave my phone in my bedroom for the day. And even though I have my work computer, my email is closed, I'm obviously not writing code right now, and I only have 3 other tabs in Chrome open: google music, biblegateway.com, and sabbathtruth.com. So I'm allowing myself today to be plugged into some form of technology so that I can write a blog post that will benefit myself and hopefully others. But this specifically allows God to speak to others through these words, and allows God to speak to me by forming my thoughts around this holy day. The point I'm trying to make is that even though I work on a computer every day, I shouldn't legalistically avoid it because it's an inherent evil, but rather I've discovered something that allows my soul to experience God, and if that experience occurs through my computer then so be it!
Friends, please read this as my encouragement for you to partake in the Sabbath. I'm not trying to come across in any sort of way...my true desire for this post is to have our collective eyes opened to the gift God has given us in the Sabbath. Often we view the Ten Commandments as a drill sergeant listing off some bullet points that we need to follow or else. But God spoke the Ten Commandments into existence for the GOOD of His people. I don't have to debate with anyone that murder, lying, stealing, and adultery are bad...honestly, duh. But these Commandments are a loving service to us because God knows exactly what our souls need. This isn't just a guideline...our souls need Sabbath rest.
If you love me, keep my commands.
-John 14:15
-Psalm 107:4-9 (emphasis added)
“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
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” (He answered,) "I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
-Matthew 12:1-2,6-8,11-12 (emphasis added)
But for the sake of my name, I brought (the Israelites) out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.
- Ezekiel 20:9-12 (emphasis added)
You probably won't read this, I understand. You're probably too busy, I get it. I don't have a tl;dr (too long; didn't read) version of this, maybe I can figure out how to make one.
Or maybe that's the point. Maybe this shouldn't have a tl;dr version and you need to read the whole thing. Maybe this might change your life like it's changing mine.
The whole tl;dr thing fits our current culture perfectly. There is SO much information in our world today and in the online world that there's no way that we can possibly take it all in. So we try to come up with shortcuts to "get the point" of the text before moving on to the next thing. We praise efficiency as the greatest good in our lives so we can do more in the course of a day. Is this what God intended for us?
My wife Sarah and I have started a practice of taking a Sabbath rest. I'll admit, this was primarily her conviction. When she brought this up to me, my thoughts were somewhere in the realm of "Uhhh sure...sounds cool. I mean, it can't hurt. Sounds like a good idea. Why not?" But even when we took our first Sabbath rest together, a LOT of things happened. We prayed together for the first time in years. I actually finished reading a book that I haven't even touched in probably more than 6 months (Sarah commented that she's never seen me actually finish a book. We've been married for 3 years, dating for 5 1/2, and I think she's actually right). The weather was 80 degrees, clear and beautiful, with an awesome thunderstorm that rolled through as a cherry on top. After the storm was the brightest rainbow I'd seen in a long time, probably because I actually took the time to notice it. This was our FIRST Sabbath together.
We were excited to talk to our friends about this day and this practice we've started because of the impact it has already had in our lives. Christian friends and followers of Christ, mind you. What we were met with honestly surprised me. Some folks were joyful for us, but for some we were met with confusion, envy, and to a small extent, derision. "Well, hope you guys enjoy your Sabbath or, whatever, I guess." Wow. Another comment I received was "Gosh, I wish I had time for that." Something that bugs me about these reactions is that this is the fourth of the Ten Commandments! Doesn't it make it sin if we're not observing the Sabbath? Imagine if you were talking with one of your friends and they said "Y'know, I've been thinking a lot recently, and I've decided that I'm gonna stop murdering and cheating on my wife." Would your reaction be "Huh, interesting. Well, hope that works for you."?
So, I'm writing this for a twofold reason. First is for me...this is still very new to me, and I want to reflect on this to define what taking a Sabbath rest looks like for myself. What restores my soul after a weary week? One thing that does that is going the batting cages in the summer...but I wouldn't expect that to restore the soul of a non-athlete or someone who dislikes baseball (let's do lunch, I'll talk you out of that nonsense). But second is to respond to others that either 1) may not understand Sabbath or may hold it in a legalistic light, 2) are "too busy", or 3) would like to start this practice and don't know where to start.
I'll start with a definition of Sabbath. Source: www.sabbathtruth.com: The Hebrew word sabbath literally means “to cease.” Just as God rested from His creation work, we are to rest from our day-to-day occupations and refocus on what’s really important. It’s a day to push the reset button. Taking a Sabbath rest is an act of faith; it’s a reminder that no matter what we do, God is in control. When we cease from pursuing our material goals for one day each week, we’re saying, “God, I trust You to maintain control while I spend this day focusing on You. I trust You to provide for my needs seven days a week even if I only work for six of them. Regardless of how much money I could earn today, or how much remains on my to-do list from last week, today I’m going to rest my mind and body and bask in Your presence.”
One bit of advice that Sarah and I received is that our week should centralize around the Sabbath, not the other way around, where the Sabbath purely exists to prepare for the next exhausting week. We've reframed this in our minds and it truly does make a difference. We work as hard as we can to do our jobs, as well as clean the house, take out the trash, do the laundry and dishes, hit up the grocery store, all BEFORE the Sabbath so that we can rest our minds and bodies on this day. Otherwise we reach our Sabbath day and say "Crap. Guess it's time to do everything before Monday hits." This has even helped our marriage too because we work together to get stuff done. For example, cleaning the house. It is NOT Sarah's "job" to clean the house, however she has a higher standard of a clean house than what I have typically had (Dusting? What's that?), so she has typically done it. But now that we do Sabbath together, when it's house-cleaning time we're both running around and making sure things get done. We work together so we can rest together...I think that's how marriages should work, right?
So here's the thing when it comes to being too busy...EVERYONE is busy. No one's life is easy. Even as I sit here, I can think of a bunch of things I can do to stay busy and fill my time rather than forcing myself to take rest and connect with my Savior. But let me ask a few questions. When is that ever going to change for you? And IF it ever does, what are you going to do with all of your free time that magically became available for you? Are you going to actually consider taking a Sabbath, or are you going to "do all of those things you couldn't do because you were too busy before"?
Everyone's situation is different, I know. I'm only married, have a 9-5 job, and have no kids. Other people have 5 kids. Other people do schooling. Other people work 3 jobs. But God didn't make those exceptions when He issued His Commandment. No matter what situation we're in, we ALL need Sabbath rest. Go back to the definition from sabbathtruth.com. "Taking a Sabbath is an act of faith; it's a reminder that no matter what we do, God is in control." I emphasized parts of Psalm 107 for a reason...when we don't rest ourselves from toiling, our lives waste away. Only God can satisfy our souls. How can we possibly use our external circumstances to say "Hang on God, I just gotta get through this one thing. Stick around, I'll be right with you."? How wrong is that! Guys, Christ called Himself "Lord of the Sabbath" because he is the Lord of work, the Lord of rest, and the Lord of this small world.
So for those that want to and recognize that they need to start this practice, and for me who's still shaping what this day looks like, here's what I've got.
First, we can't think of this as legalistic as the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law did. The question to ask is not "I need to avoid work...what qualifies as work so I make sure I'm not doing it?" but "What are things that restore my soul and connect with God? THOSE are the things I need to do." Few examples...if someone works construction every day, they're probably going to want to stay indoors, maybe take a nap, spend plenty of time in prayer, and read if they enjoy doing that. But for me, I'm a software programmer...my life during the week is on a computer writing code. I don't get much time outdoors, so I might want to go for a run or to the aforementioned batting cages. Those are things that allow me to connect with God WHILE moving my body. No matter what, if something is restorative to your soul and allows you to commune with God, do it!
Today is my Sabbath, and as you can tell, I'm on my computer. It's even my work computer, mainly because it's faster and easier than everything else I own. Typically I want to disengage from all forms of technology because I know that's good for me. I spend FAR too much time on my phone...checking baseball scores, checking out my fantasy baseball team, playing other games, you name it. So I leave my phone in my bedroom for the day. And even though I have my work computer, my email is closed, I'm obviously not writing code right now, and I only have 3 other tabs in Chrome open: google music, biblegateway.com, and sabbathtruth.com. So I'm allowing myself today to be plugged into some form of technology so that I can write a blog post that will benefit myself and hopefully others. But this specifically allows God to speak to others through these words, and allows God to speak to me by forming my thoughts around this holy day. The point I'm trying to make is that even though I work on a computer every day, I shouldn't legalistically avoid it because it's an inherent evil, but rather I've discovered something that allows my soul to experience God, and if that experience occurs through my computer then so be it!
Friends, please read this as my encouragement for you to partake in the Sabbath. I'm not trying to come across in any sort of way...my true desire for this post is to have our collective eyes opened to the gift God has given us in the Sabbath. Often we view the Ten Commandments as a drill sergeant listing off some bullet points that we need to follow or else. But God spoke the Ten Commandments into existence for the GOOD of His people. I don't have to debate with anyone that murder, lying, stealing, and adultery are bad...honestly, duh. But these Commandments are a loving service to us because God knows exactly what our souls need. This isn't just a guideline...our souls need Sabbath rest.
If you love me, keep my commands.
-John 14:15
