Continuing our journey through John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way, we’re encouraged to practice Sabbath (Session 04 in the Reading Reflection Guide.) For many of us, this may seem outdated or impossible in the modern world. Nonetheless, Comer invites us to set aside one day a week “not only [to] stop and rest but also delight in and worship the God who made you to be with himself. It’s a day to cultivate joy in a world of sadness…we need Sabbath to keep our hearts alive to the beauty of God and life with him in his world.”1
Let’s start by considering the account of creation described in Genesis 1 & 2. For six days God labored as He created light, land, stars, plants, sea creatures, animals, and human beings. And at the end of each day of creation, Scripture tells us, “God saw that it was good.” This repetition continues until the seventh day: “God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2-3, NIV).
Other passages in Scripture tell us that God doesn’t slumber or sleep (Psalm 121) and that He will not grow tired or weary (Isaiah 40:28). So why does He rest? It isn’t because He’s tired, but because His work is complete, and He sees that it is “very good.” (Genesis 1:31).
Not long after this, humans choose to disobey the Lord, launching a repeating cycle of rejection, rescue, repentance, and restoration between God and His people. In Exodus, God delivers the Israelites from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Under the leadership of Moses, the Lord gives them the Ten Commandments to instruct them how to relate with Him and with one another. His fourth commandment to them is this:
“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… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8,9,11, NIV).
While some may assume this is an archaic commandment that no longer applies to us today, the need for deep rest for our bodies, minds, and souls remains the same. There are many reasons to observe the Sabbath, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll touch on two highlighted by late author and pastor Timothy Keller.
Sabbath Reminds Us We’ve Been Liberated from Enslavement
God told the Israelites: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.” (Deuteronomy 15:15, NIV). When we fail to take a Sabbath rest, we are allowing ourselves to be enslaved to the tasks we’re compelled to accomplish. This could be a job, but it could also be any form of busyness that we do without ceasing (including faith-based activities like serving and doing ministry). If we have the need to be productive constantly, we’re letting those activities enslave us.
Sabbath rest reminds us that our work, our areas of service/ ministry, and our accomplishments don’t define us, our relationship with Christ does. He liberated us from enslavement to sin and freed us from needing to find our sense of worth in anything other than Him. Observing the Sabbath helps us to put things back into perspective. It’s meant to remind us we’re free.
Sabbath Reminds us to Trust God
Being productive makes us feel powerful and in control. It can also make us have a misplaced idea that we are indispensable. As much as it feels like it, everything doesn’t rest on our shoulders. The world won’t stop spinning on its axis and the sun won’t fail to rise if we take a day to rest. That’s why the Psalm says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 NASB). When we pause from the acts of achieving and accomplishing, we’re reminded that it’s God who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). We labor and strive in meaningful endeavors He’s given us, but ultimately it is the Lord who provides for us. We can rest because He is trustworthy. Everything doesn’t depend on us and taking a Sabbath is an act of humility that acknowledges this.
Few people would disagree with the idea that we are over-stimulated and chronically exhausted in our society today. But how should we spend our time when we change gears and downshift one day a week to let our souls catch up with us? Tim Keller suggests three things to devote ourselves to when we take a Sabbath day.
1) Enjoy an activity that is outside your usual daily routine/ occupation. Do something that re-charges and rejuvenates you. Don’t use the Sabbath to accomplish tasks on your to do list.
2) Make time for contemplation. This means taking your eyes off yourself and putting them on God. Start by attending a worship service. Add to it by spending time in prayer or reading Scripture. Set aside specific time to give the Lord the honor and praise He deserves.
3) Make time for inactivity. Let your brain and body rest. Give God room to speak to you by clearing your mind. For highly productive and capable people, doing nothing is often the one thing they struggle with most.
Pastor Pete Scezzero explains, “Sabbath, when lived, is our means as the people of God to bear witness to the way we understand life, its rhythms, its gifts, its meaning, and its ultimate purpose in God. Observing the Sabbath, we affirm: ‘God is the center and source of our lives. He is the beginning, the middle, and the end of our existence.’ We trust God to provide and care for us.”2
Friends, it’s time for us to realize we have limits. We can’t do it all because God didn’t design us that way. Even when the Lord does great works through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, we still need rest and replenishment. This is a message I’m writing for myself as much as for you. We have to stop believing the lies fed to us by our culture and by the enemy that we need to push ourselves to the limits of our capabilities in all realms. There is so much pressure to do more and to be more. We’re wearing ourselves out trying to prove it’s true.
Let’s view Sabbath as a gift God intends for us to enjoy: “You don’t have any obligations, pressures, or responsibilities. You have permission to play, be with friends, take a nap, read a good book. Few of us would give ourselves a ‘no obligation day’ very often. God gives you one—every seventh day.”3 Practicing Sabbath is just one more opportunity to be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did.
*This post is part of a series based on Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer and weekly practices described in the eight-session study guide. Order your copy of Practicing the Way using this link or buy it anywhere books are sold.
If you’re participating in a group in person at CPC Danville, copies of the Reading Reflection Guide are available at Focused Living AM and PM and in the church office. If you’d like a digital PDF to download, please reply in the comments.
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- John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way, Waterbrook Press, 2024, 182.
- Pete Scezzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Zondervan Books, 2014, 153.
- Ibid, 160.