Let me start by saying, I don't keep the Sabbath.
Well, not in the sense of the true observance of it at least. But if I did (and I really wish I did sometimes) it would be today.
Friday is the only day of the week:
- my husband is off work
- we have no commitments
- can make our own plans
This day has been reserved as "family day" and we happen to love it.
Basically this is a lot of people's Saturday or Sunday. But since we serve in full-time ministry, Saturday and Sunday are some of the busiest days of the week for us.
So Friday is my favorite. It's when we get the most rest.
Sometimes rest can be a touchy subject for people. Mostly because a lot of us don't get enough of it. And some feel it's even a sign of laziness. But when I read Scripture, more often than not I feel encouraged to rest.
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." - Jesus, Matthew 11:28
This idea of resting isn't something that was created by man. The need for rest started with God himself. If this was something that was so important that even God needed it, how much more important should it be for our lives?
And yet, so many times I get discontent about resting. Looking for something to fill the extra time in my day, get out of the house, spend money, and on and on. Anything to escape the feeling of doing, well, nothing. Actually, I think they even have a name for this discontentment in resting. They call it restlessness.
A lot of Christians today have removed the Sabbath from our lives, myself included. It was one of the 10 commandments, observed by those who followed the Jewish law. It's not a necessity for us as believers today. But just because it is not a necessity for salvation, doesn't mean it's not a necessity for sanity.
I believe that resting one day out of the week is so important. Not just for our personal health, but for the health of our families. If you had to stop and think about it, how many days of the week do you spend completely with your family? If you work a full-time job, the truth is you probably spend more time with your coworkers than your loved ones. There is something about taking time to detox from your work, job, hobby, whatever it is… and soaking up rest with your family, that is so very crucial and important.
I remember when I was growing up and would get in a fight with my little sister, one way my parents would encourage us to get along would be to make us "hug it out" or "spend time with each other." And eventually we ended up laughing and playing together again.
If we had more rest together as families, I think we'd see less divorce.
Bold statement, but think about it. How can you be unhappy while resting? Why would you be? I think a lot of times divorce is caused by tension, and tension builds when we don't have… rest. There was a study done recently linking the relationship between lack of sleep and stress.
It's a fact that when we don't rest, we get stressed. And I'm sure I don't need to educate you on all the ways stress can cause a decline in our health.
So why not give it a try this weekend? Or today? Or whenever that one day off is for you. And just spend the day in rest. And maybe your problem today is that you don't have one. In that case, some changes need to be made. If the God who created the universe took a day off to rest, you better believe you need one too.
This post is part of a series I’m writing for the month of October entitled “31 Days of Being Content.” See all other posts in this series by clicking here. Or enter your email address in the sidebar on the right to subscribe to this blog and receive posts straight to your inbox!
Josh and I finally went through our closet and cleaned it out! I don't have a picture of what it looked like (because I don't make a habit of taking pictures of things that look like a tornado came through) but believe me, it was time.
