Sabbath Rest: Sharing Our Stories

by Marilynn Chadwick

All three of our now grown children especially looked forward to the end of our Day Off, which they referred to as “Family Home Night.” These were weekly times of shared togetherness at the close of Sabbath and included special movies, family prayers, Bible stories, and make-your-own-pizzas. The movies we selected didn’t always have a spiritual message, but they helped reinforce a value or character quality such as perseverance, compassion, kindness, or courage.

Our family movies often launched spontaneous times of talking, sharing, laughing, and dreaming. The kids seemed to take this time to heart. Early on, we decided Family Home Night was not a “friend-sleepover night,” but no one seemed to mind. They grew to eagerly anticipate the much-needed space set aside for rest and time with just our family. They felt renewed by the safe haven of home. Refreshed, they were ready to reenter the fray.

I have found that Sabbath and giving space to share stories seem to go together. This was especially evident during our mission trips to other cultures. There, life moves at a slower pace. There, we forget our to-do list and welcome the unexpected. This is often the case in places where war or suffering have torn the people and their land. I remember the young Rwandan mother, a survivor of the horrific genocide. She shared her story of pain after our worship service together. I was amazed by her courage and strength. She said, “It is good to know you have not forgotten us.” We kept in touch for years, but it was Sabbath-keeping that opened the door for our shared stories and friendship.

Sabbath goes against the grain of a world that is too busy to care. Sabbath is life in slower motion. For this reason, Sabbath lends itself to sharing our stories, fears, burdens, testimonies, hopes and dreams. We were not created to experience Sabbath in isolation. I wonder if biblical Sabbath-keeping could become a powerful counter-cultural strategy in a world which thirsts for freedom from overwork, idolatry, and isolation. In a world that desperately needs shalom.

A few questions to get you thinking. You may want to experiment until you find the rhythm of rest that works best for you or your family.

1. How often does your family take a day off where you don’t do work, housework, or yard work?

2. Describe the perfect day off. Where would you go and with whom? Is there a nearby park or hiking trail you enjoy?

3. What activities do you and your family enjoy at home together? What activities do you enjoy doing alone? Would you invite a friend to join you in the activity?

4. What are some good movies or books you could reserve for your weekly “Day Off?” Are there special treats you could plan ahead? Ideas: Make your own pizza; popcorn with sea salt and coconut oil, drizzled with dark chocolate. Think of fun snacks that don’t require much preparation.

5. Are you one who enjoys cooking or is “Door Dash” your new best friend? How can you plan a special meal ahead of time that you or your family would enjoy on your day off?

6. What gets in the way of taking a day off each week? Conflicting job schedules, family members with different routines, kids’ sports? Are there changes that would help?

7. What are creative ways you or your family could read the Bible and pray together on your day off—maybe over a cup of specialty coffee in a nearby park or quiet setting?

8. What is your most significant “takeaway” from the teachings on Sabbath? Is there one change you can make today to begin to enjoy God’s gift of rest?

Sabbath Rest: Stop Worrying

by Marilynn Chadwick

In addition to “not working” on the Sabbath, the observant Jew also practices “not worrying.” Seriously. How does one “not worry?” Is that even possible? A friend coined this snappy little acronym:

W.O.R.R.Y: Worry Only Robs Rest from You

It’s true. Worrying is exhausting.

I realize as believers in Jesus, we’re not obligated to keep Sabbath according to any particular formula or law. But a true confession. After some honest reflection, I’ve come to realize that worry actually drains my energy and robs my inner peace way more than work does. Worry (translated as “I really, really care”) seems logical, even useful.

I have plenty of excuses for why I worry:

• “I just have a vivid imagination.”

• “I have lots to do.”

• “There are so many people I care about.”

Worry just comes with the territory, right? No. Not if we look at what the Bible says.

I’ve been reflecting lately on Paul’s words about worry: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” Next, he says to “tell God what you need and thank Him for what he has already done” (Phil 4:6, 7 NLT). These are training tips from a guy in prison who was always in danger of getting killed. But look at the amazing promise in verse 8: “Then God’s peace, which is greater than the human mind can understand, will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Wow. Prayer sounds like a much better use of my energy than worrying. I wonder if turning my “cares into prayers” (in the words of Charles Spurgeon) might be one way to stop this pesky Sabbath thief at the door? Not worrying on the Sabbath—or any other day for that matter—now that’s new territory! I truly want to learn to walk more solidly in my faith and drive out worry. But old habits die hard, so I’ll have to be patient with myself. Maybe you’d like to share some useful tips for how you deal with worry. Remember, we’re all in this together. Let’s encourage each other as we learn how to rest worry free.

Sabbath Rest: Stop Working

by Marilynn Chadwick

It’s been said that Americans are the only people who worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship. Maybe that’s why keeping Sabbath is so hard. Many of us enjoy feeling productive, and taking a day off seems to slow us down.

The word Sabbath, or sabat in Hebrew, means “to cease, desist, rest.” Put another way, Sabbath simply means to stop working. The very first use of sabat, translated “rest,” in the Bible is in Genesis 2:2-3 NIV: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

Sabbath can be described as taking one day each week to rest from our work. Work six days and rest one, a rhythm which follows God’s pattern as Creator. Work and rest are holy. Both are an example of what it means to be created in the image of God.

So what are some practical ways to embrace rest and resist overworking? Perhaps we can learn a few tips on Sabbath-keeping from observant Jews. Worship, rest, family time, taking a walk, and reading are among the activities considered good Sabbath practices by the faithful Jew. What is not good on the Sabbath can be summed up in three words: “work, commerce [shopping and spending], and worry.”

During their trek through the desert, God instructed the children of Israel to gather manna for six days and rest on the seventh, a type of training ground for later Sabbath-keeping (Exodus 16:5). Even before Moses received the Ten Commandments, God was training the Israelites in rhythms of rest.

When God gave Moses the law, he reminded Moses of how he brought the Israelites out of slavery. “Slaves cannot take a day off; free people can,” writes theologian Dorothy Bass. In her book “Keeping Sabbath, Practicing Our Faith,” she sounds a wake-up call for Christians to return to the practice of Sabbath-keeping. Sabbath rest is a weekly testimony against the perpetual grind of a slave’s work, she adds. It gives us a picture of who God is and what it means to be created in his image.

God’s fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,” points us back to Creation (Exodus 20:8 NIV). More words are used to explain this one than any of the other nine, so Sabbath-keeping must be important to God.

Sabbath makes space for nurturing our families, our church, and our communities. Sabbath-keeping helps us care for our souls in an age when many are desperately thirsty for inner peace. Rest from our work is also a theological theme woven throughout the Bible. It describes the liberating life of grace for the believer who has found true rest in Christ’s salvation. Perhaps St. Augustine could have been hinting at our need for Sabbath rest when he made this famous statement in his Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”