Too many people in my world seem to be burdened with life at the moment and especially with work. Weeks are busy and full with, important meetings, and after-school extra-curricular events. It seems the weekends are jam-packed with ‘good stuff’, too much good stuff that you could never say no to an event.
Whilst it seems calendar events have increased in the wake of Covid.
It’s like everyone is trying to catch up on the period of life stuck under restrictions.
But when do we get time to rest?
In the Bible the first mention of rest is of God himself: “So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.” Genesis chapter 2 verses 1-2.
The Sabbath is one of the ten holy commandments. Exodus chapter 3 verses 12-17 outlines the requirements of the Sabbath, in the Israelite law. It holds several key understandings of the role of the Sabbath. Verse 17 “ in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’”
The Lord himself took time to rest and was refreshed. God, the Alpha, and Omega, El-Shaddai (God–all-sufficient) stopped.
In our societies, we may stop for a morning coffee, sit down to eat lunch, or meditate with an app on our phones. If the Lord of the Universe took time to rest and be refreshed, I think we need to also. The type of rest referred to here is deep rest.
Day set aside
The day was set aside to honour God, any Israelite was not to undertake work, neither in the field nor in the home. Adjustments were made to ensure a day of rest could be achieved.
Reading from ‘Ordering your Private World’ by Gordon MacDonald, his wife Gail shares an entry where she had a revelation about the Law of the Sabbath.
“It is not a rule that restricts, but it is a rule that liberates. He made me need rest.”
There is so much freedom when we can wrap our heads around the fact that a loving God has created laws to help us, not hinder us. “physically and mentally we are freed to better performance if we live within His ‘design specifications.’”
Jesus modelled this for us too. Mark chapter 1 verse 35 “Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” This was a regular occurrence and on different occasions, Jesus would send his disciples away or slip off quietly to be refreshed with the Father in prayer. Many writers have noted the sustaining power of Jesus to preach to the masses and the link with quiet time with the Father. Connection with the Father enabled Jesus to continue his work. For so many of us, we only stop for a Sabbath after our work.
No rest until the work is done. Seems a standard rule for many households. As adults though, too many jobs seem to never-end. Add to that the accessibility of this technological age, and emails and work calls can follow us anywhere. Making time, and taking time to sabbath guilt-free from the pressures of work, family, friends, or tasks and jobs we expect ourselves to do can take time.
This week, what are some actions or steps to take to start the Sabbath? Is Sunday full of ‘good programs and services’ to attend? Is our mid-week jam-packed with not enough time to connect with God?
Jesus, in speaking to the Pharisees said: “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Mark Chapter 2 verse 27.
May we come back to a fuller knowledge of the freedom God has set aside for us, when we take the time to truly Sabbath.