Take A Rest

Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the LORD your God has commanded you. You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest.  Deuteronomy 5:12-14 NET

There are a lot of times where we see Technology has taken over. It's not as if we mind either. Humanity has a love affair with technology. I appreciate the ability to instantly connect with our daughter overseas, to attend church online, to share Gospel Garage. 

But if we are entranced, we are also enmeshed. The downside of technology is real and painful, and it is the far-reaching tentacles of technology – directly or indirectly – that have caused the majority of our work-life problems. 

In the past, there was a closure on the end of every day...It was called night. There also existed a closure on the end of every week – Sunday, where shops and businesses were not open. Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day to stop our work, and it also is a day to stop thinking about our work. 

Leviticus 19:30 NET You must keep My Sabbaths and fear My sanctuary. I am the LORD.

The Bible is filled with instructions about rest and recreation and relaxation. In fact it’s so important that God put it in the Ten Commandments — right up there with “Don’t commit adultery” and “Don’t murder.” He says every seventh day, you have to take a day off. That’s how important a Sabbath is in your life. 

God created this idea of us taking a day off every seven days for rest, worship, and restoration. It’s His idea, and it’s for our own benefit so we don’t burn out.

Yet in our modern society, people aren’t doing that. Even on their days off they’re working. And even when we go to a church services and go home afterward we go right back to work, trying to get all the stuff done that we didn’t get accomplished during the work week. That’s not a Sabbath!

This is what it means to have a Sabbath: 

Exodus 34:21 NET  On six days you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; even at the time of plowing and of harvest you are to rest.

So even in our busiest season, there is no excuse not to rest. You may be a tax accountant, but you still have to take a day off in April. You may work in retail, but you still have to take a day off during the Christmas season. Even a farmer must take a day off in harvest or planting season.

Maybe it doesn’t matter which actual day of the week is your Sabbath. But a regular, consistent, week after week, day of rest matters to God. Because It does matter that we are obedient. You may not rest when your spouse tells you to or even when your boss tells you to take a break. But we must rest because God commands it and so we can give Him our best.

Psalms 118:24 TPT  This is the very day of the Lord that brings gladness and joy, filling our hearts with glee.

..... the Sabbath is a day to stop our work, and it also is a day to stop thinking about our work. In Scriptures, the faithful stopped their work for a Sabbath every week. If we wish a healthy work and off the clock life balance, is it possible we will need to confront technology's hold on our lives ? – 

It’s no joke how overworked, over-scheduled, and overcommitted most of us are—I’m guessing you feel that truth deep in your own soul, too. We’ve talked before about digital distractions and drowning in clutter. Yet the need for Sabbath goes deeper than each of these things. 

What does Ezekiel 20:20 say? It promises the Sabbath will be a sign between the people and God, so that they might know that He is the Lord their God. Rest is a route for knowing God. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am the Lord Your God.” The way we get to know God is by slowing down.  

Our connection with God is not based on speed but on stillness. We are on the go seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Instead of having a restful heart, we end up with a frazzled heart. But frazzled hearts don’t know the Lord well. They may be productive, and volunteer for many things, but they do not know the Lord well. A still heart before God: that’s what makes a difference. 

That is why the need for Sabbath is a profoundly human one, a gift given to us at the start of creation, an essential tool for a healthy relationship with God. Sabbath-keeping is life, and we need it now more than ever. 

To a culture that worships productivity, Sabbath is God’s way of saying: stop.

So what does practicing the Sabbath look like? How can you or I keep the Sabbath holy without losing our jobs, alienating our families, It isn’t automatically easy either —keeping the Sabbath, like any other spiritual discipline, takes time to learn—but it’s incredibly simple. And God promises help each step of the way.