Get Some Rest with God's Re-energizing Sabbath Principle

Written by Dr. Jeff Myers

Could you use some time to rest, re-energize, and regain a healthy perspective on life? Maybe it’s time to re-examine the idea of the Sabbath, a stress-reducing, re-energizing principle designed by God himself.

Choosing Rest: Cultivating a Sunday Heart in a Monday World

I’ll never forget reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s description of the way her husband, Almanzo, spent Sunday afternoons as a child:

“After dinner Eliza Jane and Alice did the dishes, but Father and Mother and Royal and Almanzo did nothing at all. The whole afternoon they sat in the drowsy warm dining-room. Mother read the Bible and Eliza Jane read a book, and Father’s head nodded till he woke with a jerk, and then it began to nod again. Royal fingered the wooden chain that he could not whittle, and Alice looked for a long time out of the window. But Almanzo just sat. He had to. He was not allowed to do anything else, for Sunday was not a day for working or playing. It was a day for going to church and for sitting still.”*

As a child, I lived in fear that my parents would implement a similar tradition! As the years passed, however, my efforts to avoid boredom turned Sunday into a day of busy activity, a time to catch up on work and chores. Only in the last year or so have I rediscovered the awesome sense of rest that God modeled in creation by commanding a day of rest.

Genesis tells us that after God created the universe in six days, he rested and was refreshed (Genesis 2:1-3). This day of rest was called the Shabbat, which means “to cease.” The Hebrews observed this Sabbath Day by resting from their labor, allowing their animals and servants to rest, and engaging in worship and acts of mercy.

God did not need to rest on the seventh day; He rested to show us that one day a week we, too, should cease from our creative labors to focus on worshiping, loving others, healing, and re-grouping. Your Creator has made you in His image. He understands you better than anyone else, and He knows that you need a break after six days of hard work!

The Sabbath is much more than a day of rest, however. It is an opportunity to celebrate Christ’s redemption and to anticipate His return. As Susan, a friend of mine, writes, “In knowing that our day of rest is coming at the end of each week, we are relieved of the heavy load we shoulder, holding fast to the hope of rest that is to meet us.”

The Sabbath can benefit us spiritually, emotionally, physically, and even intellectually. In our worship, we can grow spiritually. After a week of hectic schedules, we can rest and re-energize our emotionally and physically drained bodies. And time spent reading while resting can also benefit us intellectually. My family and I have discovered that it is possible, with determination, to gain a true day of rest in the midst of a busy life. Here are eight ways we do it:

1. Trust. To justify taking a day off, I must trust that God is the Lord of creation, and that He will prosper the work of the past week so that our income and household will not suffer from taking a day off.

2. Prepare. My wife, Danielle, and I find that Sunday mornings are much more relaxed when we get those “Sunday morning rituals” accomplished on Saturday night: choosing clothing, planning a simple breakfast with prepared foods (Sunday is a good day for a special treat!), and going to bed in time to get a good night’s sleep.

3. Worship. In church, I discipline myself to seek to know the God who made me. I express thanks for His small mercies. Worship is a reminder that life is bigger than my own selfish desires. Danielle and I try to convey a positive attitude toward worship to our children.

4. Nap. Everyone in our family takes a luxurious, guilt-free nap, though we are careful not to sleep so long as to disrupt sleep that night.

5. Read. I revel in biographies of heroes from history, learning from their examples how to live a more fruitful, productive life.

6. Walk. Our family loves to go for a walk after Sunday naps. The fresh air, exercise, and conversation bond us together as a family.

7. Play. Instead of watching television, we play by reading books, getting on the floor with the kids, and exploring the outdoors. Danielle and I often play board games at night. Sometimes I play by spending time on my hobbies.

8. Plan. After the kids go to bed on Sunday evening, Danielle and I each sit down to plan out the week. Gregg Harris calls this “planning in the afterglow of worship.” A day of rest changes your perspective. It relieves tension. It gives you a bit of extra energy to get a jump on the week.

Always remember that our loving Father likes it when we get the rest we need. He designed it that way in creation. Starting this week, why not make resting on the Sabbath a regular part of your life?

*Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy (New York: Harper Collins, 1961), p. 94

Jeff Myers, Ph.D., is a professor of communication and leadership at Bryan College.