As I write this, we are deep in the heart of Lenten season. It is a time for reflection, repentance, meditation, self-examination and self-denial. I do not take the typical stance of giving up a particular food item to tell everyone that is what I am denying myself of during this season. In fact, I rarely have a very defined fast, but I do take this season to spend more time with God through reading my Bible, prayer, journaling and listening carefully for the Spirit to speak. I may add an additional devotional practice with a very targeted text or focus. This year, I have also been considering what Sabbath really means. Do I truly practice Sabbath? Is there a set day for Sabbath? How do I honor God, bring my first fruits to Him in this season? It has also coincided with a Bible Study in Exodus that I am leading for the church.

We have had some very lively discussions centered around Sabbath. Simply put, Sabbath means rest, ceasing from labor. It’s nuances are that it is not just a matter of ceasing activity and doing nothing, but it is a set apart time to cease striving and direct our attention towards God. During our Bible Study, it invariably comes up, that Sunday is Sabbath for Christians. However, as we studied, the class quickly realized God never said a specific day, just six days and on the seventh rest. What we concluded was that God seems to be more interested in a pattern of work and rest that all too often we neglect, abandon or fill with so much religious activity that it is anything but rest. The other item we discovered, is that in our Sabbath and worship, God requires we bring him the first and best of our increase as a sacrifice. Of course, we are New Testament Christians, so for us this does not mean rams and goats but it is our tithes, time and talent. It is our praises and worship that should be our very best for Him.

The topic of Sabbath is challenging for me as a pastor and leader. While the expected norm is that Sunday is our Sabbath day, our day of worship, for me and for every pastor or leader I know in the church, we are working on Sunday. We are leading the worship, preaching, teaching, ministering to others and at the end of morning services, sometimes we have to go out for visits, or at least make a round of phone calls to follow up with our congregations. Our roles require our availability to the congregation in their times of need. We also have the task of meetings, administration, vision casting and depending on our denomination, answering to higher levels of ministry. Tucked between all that, is the weekly obligation to prepare for the next week’s Sunday services and message, family obligations and for many a secondary vocation. It’s a lot! On a mental level, I understand the command for Sabbath. On a practical level, it’s often easier said than done. Does our Sabbath naturally fall on another day? Do we carve out the time? Do we truly practice Sabbath?

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to go to an art supply store (what my husband calls my toy shop). I went in looking for some specific items, but as I walked the aisles, I began to see a painting unfold in my mind. It was in a medium that I don’t normally work with and the idea was not a depiction of something I have already seen. I started to ignore what I was seeing in my mind’s eye, but I couldn’t resist it. By the time I left the store, I had a new canvas, some paint and brushes and an inspiration. I had no idea when or how I would complete this painting. The following Sunday, I preached my sermon, came home, ate my dinner and was drawn to my studio, where I pulled out my new canvas, paints and brushes and set up my easel. I just began to let the brush and the paints flow. I did not try to imitate what I thought I saw in the art supply store. I just let things flow, I played with the colors and the brush strokes, stepping back to let the paint dry and to determine the next move. I was finished in a period of time that seemed entirely too short but I was satisfied and I felt like I had just done something that worshipped God with a gift He gave me to use for His glory.

It probably will never land in anyone’s museum or vast collection. I will hang it on the wall in my office or my home and when I look at it, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that on a Sunday afternoon, I experienced Sabbath in a new and fresh way, a way that had no striving, no purpose for self-promotion but only to honor my Creator and what He created in me to do and be. Going forward, I am not seeking to have a Sabbath experience just like this one. Going forward, I am willing to develop a pattern of Sabbath that worships God with my substance, to be open to His leading and creativity and to move in His Spirit with a flow and ease like I did on that Sunday afternoon.