“Those who keep the sabbath live all six days differently.”
Walter Bruggerman
January 27, 2015 marks our last day in J-Bay. It’s going to be hard to leave this place, but I have that “it’s time to move on” feeling that seems to naturally come as we get to a months end. What I am going to take from South Africa? A spirit of rest, thankfulness, and consistent praise. This month has made much space for me to really consider what rest means. In fact, one of the first sermon podcasts I listened to (yes, I’ve turned into one of those people… and I love it!) when I got here was on Sabbath.
When the van first pulled up to our home-away-from-home for the month, we couldn’t believe our eyes. It seriously took us about a minute of questioning “is this really it” before we got out of the car. Before us was a house (equipped with beds, western toilets, a shower, a kitchen with a fridge) with the beach literally as our front yard. Our sweet sweet hosts, who we all very quickly fell in love with, told us that they knew about the journey we had had, and the one that we have yet to come. They explained that they believed this month was supposed to be one of refreshment for us, and that they felt the Lord had given them the resources (like a conveniently empty home next to theirs) to bless us this month. I was unaware of how emotionally and physically exhausted I was until I took a moment to rest. We did ministry (dream ministries, but that’s a whole other blog), but our schedule gave us so much time to relax. We couldn’t help but pinch ourselves, consistently asking “is this a dream?”
Thanks to all of the space, I got into the rhythm of spending time in the presence of the Lord every morning… and almost every evening. Because of this, I feel that I was able to operate with so much more joy. I felt encouraged to move forward and take on what the week had to offer (kind of like what Bruggerman was saying up in that quote at the top – genius).
In Genesis 1&2 we find the creation story. These chapters record that God blessed three things: animals, people, and the Sabbath. To both the animals and the people He said, “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” What if we took this to the Sabbath and viewed it as having life-giving abilities to fill the earth with more life? I know we hear this all of the time, but I’ll say it again, the more we put aside time to spend resting in the presence of God, the more we will be able to pour out life on others.
I think that sometimes it is easy for us to forget the seventh day of the creation story. Maybe this is because it starts in a whole new chapter (chapter 2 while the rest of the story is in chapter 1), or maybe we just dismiss it. Nevertheless, Genesis 2:3 says, “so God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” If GOD had to rest, how much more do you think that we need to rest? The Sabbath was embedded into our being, so it makes sense that we can’t work 24/7 without some serious consequences. Pastor John Mark Comer said, “the Sabbath is a day to remember that the world goes on without us. We are not as important as we think. We aren’t the main character.” Amen. How humbling! I need more reminders like that in my life because it’s so easy for me to get caught up in what I contribute. Really, it’s not about me at all. It’s about what God can do though me, and He probably can’t use me very well if I’m not rested and centered on Him.
I think it’s easy for us to feel guilty about resting when we know that there is stuff that needs to be done. I fought feelings of guilt this whole month because, in my head, this wasn’t what the World Race was supposed to be. But, isn’t life supposed to be about serving God? The Sabbath is written into the rhythm of creation. Six days of work and one day of rest is how the Lord created us to thrive. Now, John Mark continued his podcast by explaining that Sabbath is wisdom, not a command; just like we aren’t commanded to sleep 8 hours a night. We are welcome to sleep as much or as little as we would like, but in wisdom, closer to 8 hours is probably best. To be clear, not participating in Sabbath isn’t living in sin, but it is going against the created order.
One thing that I love about Sabbath is that there is so much freedom! We can spend Sabbath doing whatever we want to do, as long as we filter it through rest and worship. For example, some people find running or working out restful (i.e. one girl on my team, she loves and craves it and feels so much more centered when she has made space for it), for me that’s work. I would prefer to grab a cup of coffee and take a long stroll on the beach (that’s what I did this month) or journal (to others this is work).
I guess what I am trying to say is that I feel my relationship with the Lord has grown deep this month because I prioritized rest in my life. I want that depth for everyone. So my challenge for you is to carve out a little bit of time this week to silence all distractions, all work, and spend some time in the presence of our creator. I promise you will feel refreshed.
