Week 61: Sabbath - It is for Your Own Good

“Human beings need a rhythm of work and rest. God has established a rhythm of six days of work followed by one day of rest.” (Collin Bible Companion)

 “Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. We do not stop when we are finished. We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages, or get out of this report that is due tomorrow. We stop because it is time to stop.” (Wayne Muller)

Pic from:
http://soulcityblog.com/tag/sabbath/

No alarm was set last night. I woke up whenever I want to wake up. Late, but no sense of guilt and shame; why should I?, after all, today is my off day. Brush my teeth, wash my face and drink a bottle of small mineral water and not to forget, a cup of coffee – ‘Ah, refreshing~’ I said to myself. During our combo breakfast-lunch, my mother sparked a question, “Not working today?” “No mom today is my off day” She forgets that it is Sunday. She smiled. “So what you gonna do?” “Stay in the house… resting.”

What is Sabbath?

It is more than resting… it is a one day set apart for resting and worshiping God. Adele Ahlberg Calhoun defines, “Sabbath is God’s gift of repetitive and regular rest. It is given for our delight and communion with God. Time for being in the midst of a life of doing particularly characterizes the Sabbath.”

Why we should observe Sabbath?

Simply because Sabbath is a commandment from God. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 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 20:8-10NIV, I encourage you to examine these verses carefully) It is the day for us to remember that we are finite being and only God is the infinite One. We could not constantly be on the go. I know a college student who works part-time at 7-Eleven store. Now, try to imagine if he works for 24 hours, 7 days a week none stop! Crazy! Burn out! Weary! Possibly dead! 

Pic from: http://soulcityblog.com/tag/sabbath/

God did not intend for life to be all effort – do, do, do, work, work, work – He intentionally command a Sabbath rest so that His people could remember what life is about and who is it for. By observing Sabbath we therefore acknowledge that God is in control. That we can trust Him, the Supreme Creator can manage all that concerns us in this world as we settle into His rest. Dudes and gals, I guarantee that the world will not, will never collapse if you just rest for one day!

How to observe Sabbath?

Let these few suggestions be your outward practice instead of rules okay;

·        Setting aside time for intimacy with God and others you love,

·        Letting go of things that stress you out for 1 day,

·        Letting the difficult conversations happen another day,

·        Not developing a to-do list for Sunday (or any other day that you kept for Sabbath due to the nature of your work)

·        Practicing restful activities. For me, I love to take a walks, a Sunday afternoon nap, cycling (maybe this one is quite heavy though), coffee with a friend, family time, reading, and play Monopoly game!

·        Go to bed early, commit your body and dream to the Lord and wake up naturally without setting an alarm the night before.

·        Go to Sunday Church service - having fellowship, meeting people.

Sabbath day and Young People

God commands that we take time to rest and worship not because He needs it but because we need the refreshment that worship and rest provide. We as a young generations are prone to do things for God excessively rather than balance it with being with God. We love to do Churchy things; join or organized extravagant events, take over big projects and into a high stressful position in Campus or in Christian fellowship which are far from wrong.  But without proper rest, we ‘die’ young faster and spiritually exhausted due to ‘overheat’ - that is a gravely wrong! Take a rest will ya?

Rest is the time to stop your normal routine to more fully enjoy the renewal of body, mind, and spirit that comes from time spent with God and his people. Cool down. Relax. Celebrate. Rest. “The Sabbath was made for man (that includes you), not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27, italic mine) Based on Richard’s translation; Sabbath is from God and it is for our own good.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.