Here I am on a Sunday afternoon cranking out a blog post. I promised more than two years ago I would not put myself in a position to “work” on a Sunday again—and I haven’t until now.
It’s not coincidental; it’s a message from the Lord.
Life is crazy. Can I get an amen? If we disregard the political climate (which is impossible) most of us are still stressing out by trying to keep up. Work. Family. Ministry. Commitments. Housework. Cooking. The list is endless. Each of these components can be full-time on their own if we allow it.
As y’all know, I’m launching into indie publishing after being traditionally published for the last six years. This comes with its own set of challenges. I’d like to think if I were thirty years younger, it would be easier. At least my brain would be firing at a higher speed. But then I’d have little children and less money to invest into this crazy business, so there is a trade-off.
In an attempt to find some much-needed peace in this season, I signed up for a Zoom class titled “Productivity with Peace.” The teacher, Lori Stanley Roeleveld, is a woman I admire for her blogging expertise, and honestly, I hope some of her mojo rubs off on me. I highly suggest you subscribe.
Peace. We can all use a little more of that in our lives.
I find the class to be very beneficial as she walks us through six sessions on how to organize our lives in a way that we can be more productive and less scattered. One of her suggestions I immediately gravitated to is taking a Sabbath rest every week. Of course, we’ve all heard about keeping the Sabbath, commanded in the Old Testament. And if you’ve read the Gospels (which I’m doing right now with The Bible Recap by Tara Leigh Cobble) you know the Sabbath became a point of contention between Jesus and the Pharisees.
As Lori describes it, she and her family set all work aside (and turn off their phones) from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Everyone’s Sabbath might look different, but her suggestion is to find things to do that fill you with joy—where you lose track of time and enjoy the fruits of your labor. For some that might be reading and crafting. Others may enjoy watching an old movie or hanging out with family. I love to work in the yard, take walks with my husband, or explore a new place.
Exodus 20:9-10 says, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” This is necessary to counterbalance our workweek so the rest of our work can be more beneficial. I know in Jewish culture the Sabbath is on Saturday, but since we do church on Sunday, I thought it made sense to shut down on that day. As much as I love church, there is still work involved since I have commitments beyond worship service. It’s not a restful day, so I had to rethink that idea.
Last weekend I went on a writer’s retreat with my two critique partners Katie and Wendy. We left early on Saturday and headed for Orange Beach, Alabama. A six-hour drive if you discount the multiple potty stops Katie required. We decided she drinks way too much water.
This was to be a time for me to complete my book, which I did (thank You, Jesus) and to brainstorm the next two. While walking on the beach with Wendy, which is where I found the most rest, she shared how her family had started taking a Sabbath on Saturdays—just like Lori. If that wasn’t confirmation enough, I came home to a calendar so packed with commitments, every bit of rest I received in the past four days was gone. It felt as if the enemy was saying, “Take that!”
Have you noticed most every mountaintop experience is followed by an attack from Satan?
It isn’t only my calendar that’s been filled to the brim; Chris has been on the same roller coaster ride. This is a reminder that just because a person is “retired” doesn’t mean he lazes around. He’s taken on a lot of ministry work, which is good. But if we don’t find time to refresh our souls every week, we will eventually crash and burn, and be no use to anyone.
So, Chris and I had a little discussion about taking a Sabbath rest on Saturdays. We are both workaholics and a day filled with relaxing endeavors is difficult for us. If we aren’t being productive, we feel as if we’re wasting time. We need to learn to let that go.
Of course, right now, our calendar is jam packed throughout the next several Saturdays, so it will be a process of learning to say, “no” to things that do not provide us rest. Does that mean we won’t hang out with friends? Of course not. But when we have people over for supper, which we do often, I want the house to be clean and the food to be perfect. I don’t enjoy cooking under pressure. It will require prayer and reflection to make this work.
Retreat is the first step. dictionary.com defines retreat as the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion. Another definition is: a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy. This is where we can get away from the bustle of life.
The second step is Restore. There are several definitions, but the one I’m talking about is this: to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor. I also like this one: to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost).
The Sabbath is about more than the external rest of the body; it’s about the inner rest of the soul.
And then there is Refresh. This is what we need before starting another work week. According to dictionary.com, it means to make fresh again; reinvigorate or cheer (a person, the mind, spirits, etc.)
One would think that taking a day of rest would make us less productive. After all, it’s one less day to get our work done, catch up on chores, or (in my case) write a blog post. But I know how good and faithful the Lord is. We are not under the Old Testament rules as the Israelites were, but it is beneficial for us as Christians to practice Sabbath rest.
According to Bible Project, “Sabbath rest is an invitation to practice for eternity in God’s presence. It is an act of regular and intentional trust of God’s rule on Earth. We shabbat in order to nuakh—when we stop working, we can truly rest in God’s presence. When we practice this purposeful pause, we make room for God to take up residence in our individual lives and communities. And when we do this, we take part in the new creation story, setting the stage for God to make his dwelling place once again on Earth.”
I would love to know if you take a Sabbath rest, and if so, what that looks like. We’re all in this together. Until we’re worshipping the Lord in His eternal kingdom, we need to find a richness in glorifying God here on earth. And that starts by taking hold of His wonderful promises.
