Sabbath Rest

Sabbath Rest

Last month I read the book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, a pastor in Oregon. In it he talked about our need for Sabbath. God didn’t merely suggest it, He built it into His plan for us. After finishing the book, I looked at my planner. Every weekend in the upcoming month was full of events, family obligations, and kid’s sports. A little part of me died inside. We were so busy. Always. I told my husband, “We really need to figure out how to build Sabbath into our schedule. We need to start eliminating some things.” Then boom. COVID-19 hit the US and life as we knew it shut down.

Instant Sabbath.

Not the circumstances, I’d have chosen, yet here we are.

Just me and my family. Every day. All day.

This break from real life, hasn’t come the way I’d imagined. Yet, here it is.

Can I tell you a secret? God isn’t surprised. He knew this was coming.

Jesus tells us to come to him and find rest, to take His yoke and learn from Him. We are all weary. We are all burdened. Yet it is up to us to pick up His yoke – His yoke of wisdom and rest. We need to choose it.

Even in the midst of being at home, we need to choose to protect our brains from overload. Turn off the news. Choose not to bingewatch that Netflix show. Leave your phone in another room. Walk away from whatever way you are numbing yourself. Instead, choose to be present. To take this time and see what we are to learn from it. To connect with those in our immediate circle, our families. To connect with God. Let’s view this time as a time to satisfy our souls.

A year ago, I wrote the following words. They are applicable now more than ever. Let this time at home be a true Sabbath:

Lord, in this season of forced inactivity, let us come to
You to find rest for our souls. Help us to learn from You the lessons you are teaching us. Help us to choose and appreciate the slower pace and find new rhythms of grace and relationship.

The Sabbath is not meant to be for sacrifice, instead it is meant to satisfy our souls. Sabbath is to be the source of our strength. It is meant to sustain us. Sabbath is for slowing down. It is for connecting with God. It is for connecting with our families and closest friends. It is for walks in the woods and laughter around a campfire. It is for lingering around the table rather than a screen. It’s making time for what’s really important. It’s up to us to choose Sabbath.

Let’s choose to come out of this with renewed strength and souls.