Learning to Live From a Posture of Rest
"Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NRSV
Series: Everyday Apprentice
Devotional: 7 of 9
Author Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote, "Sabbath is the most precious present humankind has received from the treasure house of God." The Sabbath is a precious gift from a loving God that shows up on the doorstep of our lives once every week. It is a holy invitation from the Lord to all who are "weary and carrying heavy burdens" to stop, rest, delight, and worship Him, and Him alone.
Over the last fifteen years, God has continually used the practice of Sabbath to transform my life into the likeness of Jesus. With each passing year, I am learning to live as an apprentice of Jesus from a place of rest. A posture that certainly doesn't come naturally in a culture obsessed with productivity, efficiency, and the accumulation of more and more stuff. Here are three lessons I have observed as I continue to unwrap the gift of Sabbath:
Sabbath and work are two sides of the same coin. From the beginning, God established a healthy rhythm of six days of work and one day of rest woven into the fabric of Creation (See Genesis 1 and 2). Observing the Sabbath was not an afterthought from the mind of God or a band-aid He came up with later in response to our propensity to overwork. It was part of the original design of life with God in His kingdom.
Sabbath forms in us a rhythm of trust in the goodness of God. In practice, Sabbath is an act of surrender that acknowledges that Jesus is God and I am not. Every time I take my hands off the plow, I am reminded that Christ is holding it all together (See Colossians 1:17). Because of His supremacy, I can experience freedom, trusting that my identity is found in Him alone, not in the productivity of my hands. As time passes, it becomes easier to let go of control and trust that God is working on my behalf.
Sabbath creates space and time to linger in the presence of God and others. On the Sabbath we gather together as a community of apprentices, "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing" (See Hebrews 10:25). A well-practiced Sabbath rhythm slows down our pace of life, opening our blurry eyes to see clearly where God is at work in us and around us. On the Sabbath, we receive the gift of rest from God and, in turn, have the opportunity to bless others with the gift of our presence. Our full and uninterrupted attention.
Here's the thing about the Sabbath. It changes with us as we move through the natural seasons of life. Like all of the spiritual disciplines, it's a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. It's not a list of suffocating rules to follow. When practiced well, it is a day overflowing with fun, flexibility, and the freedom to experiment.
OnThe3rdDay Devotionals
Devotionals that illustrate Biblical principles in a simple and short format that can be applied to your everyday life.
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