Keeping the Sabbath – A Mindset of Rest & Margin
Keeping the Sabbath (or Shabbat) is an act of trusting God and surrendering control to Him, which enables us to receive His rest, peace, joy, delight, balance, contentment, wisdom, provision, and double portion. We must daily remember that my life if not my project but HIS PROJECT and keep the mindset of resting, relying, and leaning into Him. “Shabbat” mean to cease, rest, resist the urge to continue, recall the good, set-apart (holy) gathering, no work. God promises in Exodus that if we as God’s precious beloved children honor Him by resting on the 7th day, He will give us a double portion… If we don’t rest, then we miss out on His blessings, double portions, and fruit.
“Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the 6th day He gives you bread for two days.” Exodus 16:29
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing” (listening to Jesus) Luke 10:41-42
Too many of us are trying to be God or even serve God without listening to God. Listening to Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit always takes precedence. As we spend time in quiet and rest and contemplation, sitting at the feet of Jesus, we gain strength to act in wisdom in the hustle of a busy world. By slowing down, observing the Sabbath, and having a Sabbath restful mindset, we can hear the Spirit whisper that we are loved and guiding us, and then we begin to reflect the glory of the Christ who is within us. When we eliminate hurry we become present to actually appreciate the present moment in all of its glory, and the Spirit comes along side us and strengthens us.
“In Christ, you are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Hurry,” said Carl Jung, “is not of the devil; it is the Devil.” An acronym for “BUSY” is Being Under Satan’s Yoke, and making an idol of ourselves and our exhaustion. When we overdo we are frustrated, foul, distasteful, and overwhelmed. Exodus 16:20 tells us that excess and overdoing is foul and smelly. Hurry sickness may be the number one spiritual illness of our day – robbing us of our time with and blessings from God and our family, and our emotional and physical health. (The average working parent spends twice as much time dealing with email as playing with their children.) Busy people often rid themselves of the most important things – relationships, self care (like eating right and exercising), and spiritual practices (in our spiritual lives we cannot do anything important in a hurry).
When we are hurried and not having a Sabbath mindset, we cannot experience God’s life for us to the fullest and cannot receive all His blessings and kingdom plans for us. We must resist the urge to continue and be finished for now. We are then a sign to the world and a testimony to our children and ensuing generations that we are resting in God’s provision. The Spirit gives us power to be free from anything. We are no longer slaves. We are free from bondage and domination. There are many resources but only ONE SOURCE! Christ’s power is to say that I used to be a slave, but I am not a slave any longer (Romans 7:25)!
To become proficient in keeping the Sabbath takes a lot of time. We must not expect massive changes overnight, but take small continual steps and take the time to allow the teaching and narratives of Jesus settle into our heart, mind, and soul.
Margin & Slowing Exercises
1. The Sabbath, one day, is 14 % of our week. Start with enjoying 14 minutes each day of “Shabbat”, and often reread this article and/or memorize scripture verses to get & keep God’s word in your heart.
2. Think about the activities of the upcoming day, and instead of waiting until the last minute to go to the next activity, start 10 minutes early.
3. Intentionally get in the slowest lane while driving or in the longest checkout line.
4. Plan a meal with a friend or group, and cook slowly and linger over the meal.
5. Set aside an hour today to be a sloth (animals that move very slowly). Take up to 5 minutes to walk from your living room to your kitchen – take a step and stop, notice things, breath deeply, be present in the moment.
6. Make a whole day a “slow day.” Linger over meals and every activity. Cut out any media. Watch the sunrise or sunset, play, sketch, journal.
How to Practice Keeping the Sabbath – a rule of thumb is to start small
1. Take time to plan your Sabbath – which day? what will you eat? what will you do?
2. Start in the evening with a special meal for you or your family or friends (in this picture we are enjoying a great family meal and special time together at Symphony on the Prairie!).
3. Light a candle or two after all have seated in the center of the table. You could recite this ancient Jewish prayer, “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by Thy commandments and commanded us to kindle the Sabbath lights.”
4. Have the man of the house (or the Mom in a single household) bless everyone at the table (e.g. tell your children how much you love them, how special they are to you, and how proud you are of them). This is an old custom and can be very special.
5. Play games!
6. Eat great food that you love or enjoy exercise/activity (and memorize Bible verses during your exercise to keep God’s word, the “sword of the Spirit”, in your heart).
7. Go to church together.
8. Try not to eat out (it makes others work), which means having food ready at home.
9. Nap!
10. Set aside time for private prayer and Bible verse memorization.
11. Read a good devotional or Christian book or write in your journal.
12. Spend some time reading the Bible, especially a few verses and using the 5 P’s of Bible study I wrote in my blog article in April (Position yourself, Pour over & Paraphrase the major points, Pull out the spiritual principles, Pose the questions, Plan obedience & Pin down the date).
13. Practice hospitality – invite friends to eat with you.
My prayers for all of you precious children of our Lord (and absolutely me too :)!) to continually grow in our Sabbath mindset, rest, and margin,
Hugs and love to all of you!!! Dr. Lisa
Excerpts from James Bryan Smith’s great books “The Good and Beautiful God” and “The Good and Beautiful Life”, and Priscilla Shirer’s talk at the Deeper Still conference in Louisville, June 2011.
