Sabbath what?

Someone once told me there is this spiritual discipline called taking a Sabbath (day off). I was like, "What? What are you even talking about?"

Okay, maybe I wasn't like that. But it seems lately, especially in such a fast paced, financial-success driven society, relaxing has become a skill that needs to be learned for many people. I include myself in that. I love the idea of relaxing, but I've yet to figure out how to do it at will. On my days off I usually work on something, even when I don't need to. The idea of having nothing to do all day seems wasteful and horrible and awkward! But there is evidence that I need one when I have been sick with colds and flus for the past few months! My body is not getting enough rest by my will to stay healthy, so I'm forced into bed by bugs of all sorts having parties in my lungs and sinuses.

God gave us the Sabbath as a gift. He never needed us to take a Sabbath. Us working does not make Him angry. He loves a good work ethic. But He commanded us to take a Sabbath for us, and not for Him. He knows what is best for us. Yet we - I - think we know what is best for ourselves and so we work none stop. And guess what, weeks and months pass and one day we feel burnt out, our relationships seem strained, and most of all, something just doesn't seem right. Our relationship with God easily becomes distant and distracted when we don't take a day to let things be in His hands.

It's hard to take time off, and I'm not saying we need to be legalistic about it. But it's important to take time to ourselves, even if it's a few hours a day rather than one entire day. I mean, take one entire day a week if you can as often as possible, but sometimes it just doesn't practically play out. But my challenge for myself is to be intentional about the time I take to relax, enjoy friends and family, enjoy alone time, and especially to enjoy God. Some weeks I don't have a whole day, but I have a few hours a couple of mornings and one evening a week. So take that time to read my bible, pray, journal and catch up with people in my life. On Sundays after church I often head over to the local coffee shop for a board game or share a meal with close friends. Other Sundays I reserve time to just myself, and sit in a coffee shop or a book store for hours alone reading and journaling. If I can do it, you can to.

A good friend of mine always says that God has this way of giving back to us the time we give to him. When we think we don't have time to give Him an hour but do, we are surprised to find that we get done whatever we needed to get done with that hour anyway. Does that make sense? I hope so. Test it out. I bet you'll find it's true. Give Him an hour or two or three - completely undivided with the intention of resting in Him and enjoying His presence (and not as an excuse to procrastinate, thank you much). And I bet you will find that you get back whatever time you gave.

Grace and Peace from the Father through Christ.