Do You Take a Sabbath?

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work. - Exodus 20:9-10

Have you thought much about taking a sabbath? This commitment to one day a week being set aside for rest has been a hallmark of believers for millennia. Both Brenna and I (Bill) regularly practice sabbath for one full day a week. It’s often Saturday, and neither of us do it perfectly, but we’re convinced that it’s a pillar in having a healthy, sustainable ministry.

Sabbath is often considered a day for recreation - literally, re-creation. That means we are called to do the things on the sabbath that help us get back to who we were created to be. Naps, games, walks, books, hikes, dates or movies - all can be great pieces of a sabbath. And there are overt spiritual practices like journals, praying, silence, worship, etc. that can be helpful as well.

There’s a difference between a day off and a sabbath. On a day off we may have a long list of things to do, but on a sabbath the idea is not to make that list but rather to allow time to unfold differently, less task oriented, more restful. Sabbath is a lot about not-doing, about saying no to social media or work emails or even the ordinary things that can distract us (like the news or running errands). And it’s always important to remember that Jesus taught that the sabbath was made for us, not the other way around. That means that there’s not some new legalism we need to perform in order to get sabbath right. Sabbath is about what is renewing for YOU.

So do you take a sabbath? Would you like to try? (If so, consider starting with a half day for a few weeks and see how that feels). Are there things you can immediately identify as stuff you do NOT want to do on a Sabbath? How about things you DO want to do? Talk with God about what it might mean to lean into this restful rhythm.