Sabbath: The Rest of ItExemplo

Day Two: How God Works Through Rest

Do you wear “busyness” like a badge of honor?

For so many of us, our calendars stay full, and social obligations are always on the horizon. There are to-do lists to be checked off and work to be done. Then, after our days full of serving, working, and striving, we come home tired and weary, with hardly a break before starting all over again.

But we weren't created to go through life weary.

In Exodus, we see the Israelites, God’s chosen people, being worked to death by Pharaoh. They were slaves in a foreign land, bound by the work of Egyptian culture. In their struggle, God decided to rescue them from their forced labor, not by their own efforts but through His strong hand (Exodus 6:6).

When they were finally free, God gave them the gift of the Ten Commandments, a guideline for how His people were to live (Exodus 20:8). One of those key guidelines? To remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

God was setting apart His people by breaking the rhythm of work and oppression they had lived in for far too long.

On one day, God’s people were to stop all work—a spiritual discipline that was the opposite of what they were used to. The Sabbath brought them freedom, which was a foreign concept they desperately needed. Friends, the same is still true for us today.

Jesus Himself said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” The Sabbath isn’t important just because it's a rule we have to follow; our soul, body, and mind actually need it, and our Creator knows this.

You may feel you don’t have space for true Sabbath rest in your life. Maybe you feel too busy or overwhelmed, or you don't know how to break the cycle of busyness that you’ve been living in.

Maybe right now your version of rest is collapsing on the couch for a marathon session of your favorite TV show.

But what if you first made it a priority to pause and reconnect with your Father this week? What if you sought out rest rooted in trust in God? How could that impact every other aspect of your life?

Sabbath is a means to an end. It’s an act of humility and trust—a rhythm of rest to remind our hearts that God is our provider and sustainer.

The Sabbath reveals what you actually worship (Luke 12:34). Your time is your greatest treasure, so Sabbath will reveal where your treasure is. What you can’t break away from for a day is the thing that’s keeping you in bondage. What is that thing for you?

Tip for practicing Sabbath:

Prepare for Sabbath ahead of time by finishing your work before that day (e.g., respond to any messages you need to, clean, get your errands done, etc.).

In creation, evening marked the beginning of a new day. Use the night before your Sabbath to get ready for the day ahead! Turn your phone off. Light a candle. Enjoy a good meal with friends and family. Spend time in God’s Word.