Learning to Rest

When was the last time you rested?

I'm not talking so much about when you to bed each night. I'm talking about rest from the busy-ness of life. I'm talking about intentionally created space in your calendar to rest.

Rest is the first of the rhythms for life Rebekah Lyons talks about in her (soon to be released) book Rhythms of Renewal. While the entire book was full of good stuff, this section was the most challenging for me.

As much as I know is my head how important rest is, I don't often do a good job of living this out. Even as I read through the chapters in this section, full of practical suggestions that seem easy on paper, I knew how much I struggle with this one.

As I started reading the beginning of this section on  rest, I knew it was something I need to learn and practice more of in my life. And Rebekah's words reminded me of why it's important:

"Rest precedes blessing. We don't have to run to earn rest; we run fueled by a posture of rest."

Our fuel for all we do comes from rest. Rest has to come first.

One of the things Rebekah talks about in this section is the idea of Sabbath. It's really easy to write Sabbath off as an Old Testament practice that we don't need anymore. But, I think we miss out on something when we do that.

Yes, Sabbath was part of God's Law with Israel in the Old Testament, but it wasn't limited to that. We actually see the first example of Sabbath in the creation story in Genesis 1. After creating for six days, God rested on the seventh day. God did include Sabbath in His covenant with Israel, but it appears to me that Sabbath goes beyond that too.

So, why do we need Sabbath today?

I appreciated the words Rebekah wrote on it:

"Your value as a human being isn't found in what you produce; it's found in who you are in Christ - a person designed in the image of God to glorify him forever. From the beginning, God designed his creation to be more abundant, fulfilled, and joyful when we work from a place of rest and renewal."

When we create space for Sabbath, we're able to live from this. And it changes everything.

"When we intentionally Sabbath - stop striving so much - we create space for healing, wholeness, and refreshment. It's a truth built into the design of things."

Without this space, we miss out on much. And we don't do well at allowing God to work in us. We have to prove our worth by what we do.

"Our worth is found in the God who loves us, who created rest for our good."

So, if it's for our good, why do we avoid it?

Sometimes it's because we've bought the lies of our culture that we can't rest and that our worth comes from what we do. Sometimes it's because we're afraid of what we might realize if we stop. Sometimes it's because we're not sure how to stop.

But, as I reflected on it for myself, I realized another reason. Sometimes we see it as a legalistic practice we want to avoid.

Growing up, there was a family across the street that spent a lot of time with because the kids were same ages as my sisters and I. We had a lot of fun together and the rules for what was allowed and not allowed were very much the same. The noticeable differences in our families came on Saturdays. That was the one day of the week we didn't spend much, if any, time with them.

The family was Seventh-Day Adventist and Saturdays were a Sabbath for them. Growing up, all my childhood brain saw was a long list of things my friends weren't allowed to do that day - no jumping on the trampoline, no riding bikes, no street hockey or basketball, no TV or movies, no card games, and only certain board games were okay.

For a long time, that my association with Sabbath. It was just a list of things not allowed that made the day really boring. So, when people talked about our need for Sabbath, I resisted it. My understanding of what Sabbath actually is had to be changed.

What comes to mind when you think of Sabbath?

Are there ways it needs to change?

When is the last time you had a Sabbath in your life?

What would it look like for you to have Sabbath in your life?