Sabbath

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”  (Exodus 20:8)

I’ve only heard that at least 100 times throughout my life.  From the Creation story on, Sabbath is an important part of the teachings in the Bible.  It’s the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments.  (That’s only after “have no other gods before me,” “don’t worship idols,” and “don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.” AND “Do not murder” is the sixth commandment – the Sabbath is before not murdering people.)

However, until this year, I never once took an intentional Sabbath.  Which doesn’t seem that crazy in today’s culture, but when looking in the Old Testament – the punishment for working on the Sabbath was being cut off from the people, and the punishment for desecrating the Sabbath was death.

Let me just repeat that: not honoring the Sabbath was punishable by DEATH.  (Exodus 31:12-17)

In those regards, I should’ve died a long time ago. I’m so thankful for God’s grace and forgiveness through Christ.  However, that doesn’t mean I should just ignore the Sabbath from now on. 

I’d never really thought about taking a Sabbath until I started working for Bill and Melissa.  They Sabbath every week, typically on Fridays, and on that day – we all know not to contact them unless it’s an absolute emergency.  I knew that pretty much right away after I started working with them, but until recently, I never really knew what they did on their Sabbath.  I kinda just figured they slept a lot and didn’t work. 

This summer, really since I got back from Daytona, I’ve started to take a Sabbath about every seven days.  I intentionally have to schedule it into my week – my planner has “Sabbath” written into every Thursday slot for this semester, with Saturday being my back-up if anything comes up.  Today was the first day of the semester at Midland, but I do not have classes on Thursday, so it was my first Sabbath of the semester.  And it has been pretty great.

Many Christians take “Sabbath” on Sundays.  However, when you work at a church, Sunday isn’t a day off of work, so it can’t be our Sabbath. Traditionally, the Sabbath starts on Friday evening and goes through Saturday, in the Jewish tradition. When I take my Sabbath, it starts the night before and goes through the next day.  Last night, I started a devotional book about women in the Bible.  I started with the story of Hannah in the Bible, my namesake.  And I prayed to thank God that I am not God.  Then, I slept in this morning, spent some time writing about the Sabbath verses in the Bible, and ate a late lunch.  I sang worship songs for about half an hour, and then went to Milady where I drank some coffee while I wrote and prayed on Psalm 92.  I also like to accomplish something that’s not “ordinary work” for me on the Sabbath – because Sabbath doesn’t equal being unproductive.  So, I did my laundry, which had piled up for a while… again, it’s not my ordinary work.  (Oops).  

           

Sabbath is a holy day.  Not a day to just do nothing, or to just sit and watch Netflix for hours on end.  At least, that’s not what Jesus did on the Sabbath.  Jesus taught and healed on the Sabbath, teaching us that you can still do good on the Sabbath.  It’s simply a day for God, and for restoration. 

At first, the thought of taking a Sabbath was so weird and foreign to me.  Especially in today’s culture.  But I’ve got to tell you – after taking a Sabbath, I feel so much more fulfilled, refreshed, and restored.  I feel READY for the challenges that will come my way tomorrow.  Because guess what? God took a day off.  And if I start to think that the world can’t spin without me taking a day off, I am so wrong.  God created this entire world, and then rested (Genesis 2:1-3).  He didn’t check to see if the trees were getting watered or if the animals got fed.  He trusted in His work to sustain itself, and He took the day off.  And since God could do that, I certainly can take a day off. 

The Sabbath is a great reminder for me that I am not in control.  While I don’t necessarily always love that, I do love the reminder that God is in control.  He’s taking care of everything, so I do not need to worry.  It’s a chance for me to re-devote my heart to God (Ezekiel 20:12-26).

If you’re a Christian and you’ve never taken a Sabbath, I highly suggest it.  And not just a big vacation once a year, but once a week, take some time off to make the day holy. (Now I understand this would be much harder with children, but still try to take some time to get alone with God.)

I know people think the thought of me taking a Sabbath day every week is going to be difficult once school starts and everything gets crazy again.  And you are totally right – it is much tougher to put down the homework, work, and things I need to get done initially.  But each time I take a Sabbath, I learn more and more how important it is for my soul and my relationship with God.  I’m planning on taking as many Sabbaths as possible this semester, and getting into the habit of continuing to do so throughout my life.

God Bless,

-       Han