“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were completed and all their hosts.  By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on\the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Gen. 1:31-2:3, NASB)

Sabbath, in its simplest translation is rest.  Not sleep necessarily, not lazing about, not mindlessly buzzing around on the internet but rest, a cease striving state of being.  Now as a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a bi-vocational pastor, I understand the difficulty in finding that state of being.  This teaching of Sabbath was given to me when I also had on my busy plate, the role of being a seminary student.  I thought my professors insane to think I could ever possibly carve out Sabbath in my schedule but it was their insistence that made me look at Sabbath with new eyes.

If we look at what the Bible says about Sabbath, we see there is no designation of what day Sabbath fell on.  It doesn’t say that we shouldn’t cook or play or enjoy the fellowship of one another.  It doesn’t even say we should be in church all day long.  What it does say is that God worked six days, created everything, looked around and assessed the work was very good and then rested on the seventh day.  Furthermore He sanctified the seventh day, set it apart for rest.  What God did was set a pattern for us to live by.  And this is where seminary had me look at Sabbath differently.  Because they knew we were students, many of us married, many of us working; the stress was on building a pattern of rest like God did so that we would have strength and joy for the work and calling God had put in our lives.  It’s not just for seminary students, we all need a pattern of rest!

So yes, I am writing this on a Sunday evening, after a morning worship experience, after a nice dinner with my husband, a good nap on the hammock feeling the summer breeze blow over my face and taking a walk around the neighborhood to survey the beauty of God’s handiwork and also to release any stress in my body.  I will start a hectic work week in the morning along with ministry responsibilities and household duties.  So this is my Sabbath.  It happens to be on Sunday.  It is more about focusing on the handiwork of God (worship) taking time to restore my physical body (dinner & a nap), meditating on the work of God and thanking Him for all He does and is (walk) and also as I write this and perhaps start another drawing, it is about glorifying God through the gifts He has given me.

My point here is that in this crazy, busy world we live in, too many of us never take time to rest.  We sleep but we don’t necessarily rest in the terms God has given us, Sabbath.  How much better would your day be?  How much better would your week be if you took the time to find the terms and conditions of God’s meaning of rest for your life?  Don’t expect anyone to give it to you.  You have to seek it for yourself.  I am not advocating taking off from worship services or checking out of your life for a day.  But I am advocating that you find a way to find that cease striving focus for yourself, not just once or twice a month or year but on a regular basis.  And once you find it, guard it like God guarded His Sabbath, sanctify it, set it apart for rest.  The kind of rest that puts all your focus on God even as you eat, sleep and exercise your body and gifts.  I believe you will find a renewed relationship with Him when you do.