Unwrapping God’s Gift of Rest: A Personal Postscript

Scripture — Mark 2:27 (NRSV)

The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.

Devotion

For the last several weeks, I’ve been doing a series of devotions on the theme Unwrapping God’s Gift of Rest. If you’re interested, you can access the whole series here. Even though as Christians we are not compelled to keep the sabbath according to Jewish traditions, I believe that God wants to give us the gift of regular, intentional, and restorative rest. In recent devotions, I’ve shown how Scripture has led me to this conclusion. I’ve also explained that, from my reading of Paul’s letters, we have freedom with respect to exactly how and when we keep the sabbath. Therefore we should approach this topic with grace, extending that grace to others who don’t think or practice exactly as we do.

Learning to think rightly about rest is certainly important. It can be foundational for living rightly. Scripture provides the sure foundation for our understanding of sabbath. But I confess that sometimes my study of Scripture is more about informing my mind than transforming my life. I could easily do a series of devotions on sabbath without altering my own sabbath practice. Yet, by God’s grace, I try to take what I’m writing to heart in a personal way, letting it touch my thinking, my feelings, and my daily living.

I thought I would share with you two changes I’ve made in my personal sabbath practices. I’m doing this to encourage you. I’m also doing this because telling you what I’m doing will help to keep me accountable.

In general, my “sabbath” begins on Saturday afternoon and continues through Sunday afternoon. I try not to do ordinary work during this stretch of time, though sometimes I’m preaching on Sundays or doing other work-related things (like traveling).

For the most part, I’m able to let this time period be free from ordinary work as well as be an opportunity to gather with my church for corporate worship. I have sometimes struggled, however, to know what to do with myself on Sunday mornings after my devotions and before I go to church. Without a plan, it’s tempting for me to use that time poorly, even doing some of my ordinary work if I’m feeling especially pressured.

This devotional series on rest challenged me to rethink my own practice on Sunday mornings. I asked the Lord for guidance and waited. Then, several weeks ago, an idea occurred to me. Perhaps Sunday mornings could be a time for prayerful reflection on the past week. I could take out my calendar and walk through the past seven days, jotting down key events or learnings in my journal, thanking God for good gifts, and praying for people who need it in a special way. (If you’re familiar with the Ignatian examen, what I’m describing here would be a weekly version of the examen.)

Since I’ve been engaged in this practice, I’ve found it to be helpful to my soul. Thinking about the past week and taking it before the Lord helps me to be grounded emotionally. It reminds me of God’s gifts and stirs up my gratitude. It encourages me to intercede for those who need it. And it helps me to reflect on my life and work in a way that feels fully consistent with the point of the sabbath.

As I share this practice with you, I realize that some Life for Leaders readers might try it on for size. That would be great. Let me know how it “fits” for you. I also know that some readers couldn’t imagine finding such quiet time on Sunday morning. If you’re a parent of young children, the time before worship on Sunday can be anything but a moment for calm reflection. In my family growing up, it was always the most stressful and hurried time of the week.

Will my rather new Sunday morning reflective practice become a regular part of my life? I hope so, because it has enriched my Sunday morning sabbath experience. Among other things, it gets my heart ready for more engaged worship. But whether I’m doing this particular practice in a year or not, I want to continue to grow, not only in my ability to understand God’s gift of rest, but also in my ability to unwrap it and enjoy it.

Banner image by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: 3 Reasons to Practice Sabbath Rest.

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