Taking a Sabbath
Sabbath. It's a funny word. Unfortunately, this word is buried deep in the Christianese lexicon, and not many people actually practice this very important spiritual discipline.
When I was in my third year of Master's Commission, I was given a lot of responsibility and found myself with a very large workload. So much so, that I stopped taking a day off. Monday, which was supposed to be my off day, was filled with planning, writing, and studying. I had cut all the fun out of my life to get the job done.
I loved it for the first few months, but after after 3 months of consistently working 16 hour days, I broke. I couldn't do it anymore. Something had to give. I just didn't know what. Thankfully God knew exactly what I needed.
While driving back home to Georgia for Thanksgiving, I listened to Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I got to the chapter called Tassels. I wept for the next 3 hours. I realized I had been sinning for months. I had neglected the fourth commandment, "Keep the Sabbath day and make it holy."
I believed, like many Christians believe, that the Sabbath is synonymous with Sunday. It's the day we go to church. We worship God. We spend time with our families. My Sunday's had long left this model. I worked in kids church on Sunday, and then collapsed on the couch for two hours just to go work again that night running multimedia for Sunday night services.
God gave us a model of taking a Sabbath. When he created everything in the 6 days, he took the seventh day off. He did no work. He made the day holy.
It took a few months, but after delegating some of my responsibilities and asking for help, I finally got a consistent day off. I haven't looked back since.
Here are some tips to help you start taking a Sabbath and enjoy this wonderfully refreshing spiritual discipline.
1. Pick a day If your in full or part time ministry you know that Sunday is not a day of rest. You need to pick a day that fits into your schedule to shut everything down and spend time with God and your family. Mine is usually Friday. Don't be afraid to experiment, and if your schedule prevents you from taking that day, don't get hung up on the day, just pick another that week and take it.
2. Relax Many people who try to take a Sabbath find that they can't do a full 24 hours. They get uncomfortable and anxious about all the work they could be doing. STOP. It will take some practice, but eventually you will find that it gets much easier. Try not working for a few hours and then gradually increase that time until you get to the full day.
3. Trust God God required the Israelites to take a day and he promised that he would fill in the rest. Work like crazy for 6 days and trust God to fill in the gaps for the day you take off.
4. Focus Take this day to spend time with God. Focus on your family and your friends. You'll find your life become much more fulfilled and your relationships with those you love much stronger simply because you made some time for them.
Taking that first step is not always easy, but it's worth it. I challenge to take your Sabbath and discover the wonder that God has built into our lives.
