Sabbath rest is a regular nudge for Christian pilgrims: Stop here and orient yourself. Reflect on your journey. Set your heart on your goal. One day a week, we have a chance to take stock of where we’ve been. 

Everyone I know is longing for rest. The teenagers in my life are worn out with studying, extra-curriculars, and relational drama. The moms and grandmas are juggling everyone’s schedules while squeezing their own tasks in the margins. My co-workers are putting in extra time and marking the days until the next paid holiday. Our alarms get us up early and our to-do lists keep us up late, and each week brings a fresh set of urgent responsibilities. We are tired.

Thankfully, the Bible consistently presents the Sabbath as the Lord’s gift to the weary. The Sabbath is the pattern God established from Genesis to Revelation, and we should recognize it and defend it in our lives. One day out of every seven, the Lord invites us to set aside ordinary things and experience the blessing of spiritual things.

Let’s consider five ways Sabbath rest reorients worn-out people toward what matters most.

1. Sabbath Rest Reorients Our Time

As tempting as it might be to believe we’re masters of our time, carefully manipulating a complex puzzle of Google Calendar entries, we aren’t. God is the One who created time, who set us in it and bound us by it, and God is the One who rightfully directs us how to use it. When we submit to his pattern of six days for work and one for worship, we acknowledge that God is the Lord of time.

The disruption of Sabbath rest is a chance to remember that even our schedules are under the Lord’s authority. Once a week, the Lord breaks into our routine and reminds us that our appointments and plans aren’t ultimate, nor are they prioritized according to our desires. When the first day of every week belongs wholly to him, it reorients every minute of every day that follows.

2. Sabbath Rest Reorients Our Work

I love a to-do list. I’ve been known to complete a task and then add it to my to-do list merely for the pleasure of crossing it off immediately. I measure the success of each day by how many items have a dark slash through them. Phone meeting? Done. Pick up prescriptions? Done. Order groceries? Done. Submit project? Done. Satisfied by my labors, I go to bed happy.

Except on Sundays. On Sunday nights, I have to reckon with the fact that I accomplished very little. I didn’t clock in to my job or run any errands. I have less money in my bank account, having left some in the offering plate. I’ve completed no assignments that I can cross off my list and congratulate myself with. But guess what? I had food in my stomach and breath in my lungs; the sun continued to shine, and the earth continued to turn. I did nothing, and the Lord did everything.

We’re often tempted to think our effort is what keeps us afloat, but Sabbath rest reminds us that it’s the Lord who gives us daily bread, who provides our clothing, and who supplies a place for us to live (Matt. 6:11, 25–30).

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