One of the most frustrating parts of my journey in learning to sabbath is how little help there is on making sabbath happen. Everyone who tells you how to sabbath puts it in such a box that sabbath becomes work. (You’ve heard it - they say things like “Just rest!” but what does rest look like? What counts? What if I rest and I don’t feel rested? What if I don’t know how to rest!?)
Finally I came across a teaching that included some incredibly helpful “guidelines”. (And I hesitate to call it that!) While my disclaimer has indicated that most of my material in this series is an amalgamation, I’ll give credit in this portion because I am taking it point for point. The following points (as did the best parts of my learning from the earlier posts in this series) come from Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church:
If you don’t yet understand that real, deep, soul rest comes from a secure identity in Christ and choosing to live to His expectations alone, then the following will not help you. You may try to follow these steps, but they will be lacking foundation and your efforts will return void.
Two truths you must believe:
1. Sabbath is about liberation.
In Deuteronomy 5:15, God says: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and God brought you out of there... Therefore... observe the Sabbath day.”
If you don’t rest, you’re a slave. Whether you’re slave to your own ambitions, others’ expectations, a demanding career choice or an over-committed life doesn’t matter - you’re still a slave.
2. Sabbath is about trust.
Are you God? Do you make the world go around? Do you bring money in? (Yes, I know you work for it - who gave you the job? Oh, you got it yourself? Okay, who gave you the time to work? Who gave you the breath you breathe while you work? Uh huh, thought so.)
When you trust that God can provide for you for seven days when you work six days, then you will be able to sabbath.
Once you have accepted these truths, there are a few disciplines to help you make the most of your sabbath:
1. Take more sabbath time.
How much? Only you and God can decide that, but if you’re reading this, you’re probably not taking enough, so definitely more than you’re taking now.
2. Balance your sabbath time.
Here are three things to structure your sabbath time - try to work in all three in each sabbath day.
- Do something contemplative. This means worship - spend extra time in your Bible, in prayer, listen to worship music. Spend time sitting quietly, meditating on Scripture, listening for the voice of God to speak in your life.
- Do something avocational. This means something other than what you do every other day. If you’re a landscaper, maybe you shouldn’t do yardwork on your sabbath. If you cook six days a week and you don’t enjoy cooking, arrange to not cook on your sabbath.
- Do something inactive. In the Old Testament, even the ground got a sabbath. Every plot of land was planted for six years and then was left unplanted on the seventh year. Whatever came up was allowed to come up. If a pile of dirt deserves this treatment, you do too.
As you’re beginning to build this habit, ask a friend, spouse or family member to check in on you. You’ll also find that there are seasons in your life that are prone to being under-rested (think launching a new business or having a baby). This is fine to an extent, and for a season, but before you walk into such a time, ask someone to help you establish a reasonable pattern of rest after a set amount of time.
4. Inject sabbath time into your work.
In the Old Testament, there was a “law of gleaning” which prevented farmers from reaping all the way to the edges and corners of their fields. That which was left was for the sole purpose of allowing the poor to harvest food for themselves - a sort of welfare program of that society. When you reap all the way to the corners of your field, you are expending everything you have. For the sake of your own welfare, don’t do this.
What does that look like? Don’t give so much of yourself at work that you come home with nothing left to give your family. Don’t over-commit so that you never sit down to eat together. Don’t go to bed late and wake up early. Only you and God can really figure out what this looks like in your life.
Again, without first understanding that your identity is in Christ, and without first understanding that sabbath is about liberation and trust, these disciplines will do nothing for you. You will never find the deep, soul rest that you are longing for because you will remain distracted by the need to prove yourself. That is not the best way, and you will not be able to do it forever. Eventually, your world will come crashing down around you. Let God’s approval be enough, and may you find complete satisfaction in your work, because your biggest challenge, your biggest work, has already been finished by Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow, I'll share some resources that have helped me in my search for sabbath.
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