Governor Whitmer's Order The Governor has ordered us to 'shelter in' for three weeks. We can still go outside, take walks and hikes, enjoy nature and recreation. But we’re ordered to take a break from work that’s not essential. Do you know God has ordered the same thing, to take a break every Sunday from the things that usually control us? God's command to keep the Sabbath means to set aside 24 hours for rest and leisure and people you love. When I read the order, I thought, this is a great order for every Sunday!
God's Order The third commandment is this (Ex. 20:8-10): “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. On it you shall not do any work.” When this is all over, will we obey God’s order, or will we go back to 24/7 busyness, rush, and hurry?
Why Keep the Sabbath? The Jewish people embraced the 24-hour time of rest that made the Sabbath different from every other day. The Sabbath reminded them they were no longer slaves that could never stop. They had been slaves in Egypt, but the Lord set them free from Pharaoh’s rule. And the Lord is restful God. He designed creation for both work and rest. The Sabbath reminded people they couldn’t constantly be on the go. We're finite. There’s limits to our energy. Keeping the Sabbath honors our human limits, by honoring the infinite God, who himself worked and rested.
Why is Hard to Keep the Sabbath? It’s a fact that everything today works against us slowing down. Most of us feel a compulsion to be productive and not waste time, and this invades the space God gave for us to rest. Well, now we're being ordered to rest. How do you feel about it? I imagine some of you are a bit indignant. We don’t like being told what to do or not do. But, I want you to consider, God commands the same thing every Sunday – to stop. To interrupt the busyness, and enjoy the delight of a world and relationships we didn’t make or produce or earn. To enjoy them with God as very good.
A New Rhythm of Life I hope during this time of ‘sheltering in,’ you’ll develop a new rhythm of life. I think God’s allowing this so we can learn a new way of living. We’ve all become slaves to the clock, the schedule, 24/7 accessibility to work, email, and stores, sports practices and events that fill up the Sabbath day, so we never stop. If we think the tiring and relentless demands on us is incompatible with God’s command to take a break on Sunday, maybe our tiredness should tell us something. The command to keep the Sabbath is God’s way of saying, “Stop. Notice your limits. Don’t burn out.” It’s a day he gives us to remember what matters most. Sunday hands us hours for loving and being loved, and reminds us when we gather for worship that we belong to the worldwide family of the body of Christ. We’re citizens of a kingdom not ruled by the clock.
Question to Think About 1. What difficulties or compulsions make it hard for you to stop? 2. How can taking a break for 24 hours enhance your enjoyment and worship of God? 3. What happens to you when you go without regular rhythms that allow you to rest in God?
How to Practice the Sabbath? Discuss with your family how to arrange your Sabbath, from Saturday evening until Sunday evening, for refreshment, renewal, and relationships. Consider the things that nourish you: worship, music, family time, walking, reading, an afternoon nap, playing games with your kids, a picnic, making love to your spouse, a phone visit with someone you love, tea or coffee with a friend. Let everyone tell one thing they love to do on Sunday. Plan them spaciously into the day.
Leave Work and School Behind for 24 Hours A helpful way to leave work and school behind is to prepare a Sabbath box. Each Saturday evening, put all the things you don’t need to take with you into Sunday into the box. Drop cell phones, credit cards, gadgets into the box. Put work projects and homework in the box. Tell one another what you’re looking forward to as you enter Sunday.
Begin Saturday Evening Begin your Sabbath on Saturday evening. Light some candles. Invite the presence of Christ to guide you through your Sabbath. Eat with family and friends. Enter into sleep as an act of worship. Let go of your compulsion to be indispensable. Drop your anxieties into the Father’s arms. Relax and rest in God. When you wake up, thank God for the gift of the day before you. Get up slowly and attend to your desire to encounter God and be refreshed today.
God-Given Fruits of the Sabbath The God-given fruit of practicing the Sabbath are many. We experience freedom from the addiction to busyness, rush, and hurry; we honor the way God created us by living a healthy and intentionally rested life; we delight in God, family, the season, meals, and all good gifts of creation; we keep company with Jesus through the Sabbath; and we learn to trust God for all we’re not doing or taking care of on Sunday, that He can manage all that concerns us as we settle into his rest.
My Desire for You This is what I want for you, the fruit I want you to experience and keep with you after the Governor’s order is lifted. Learn how to practice the Sabbath well during this time, so you can keep practicing it and bear good fruit in your life!