Sabbath: A Less Stressful Christmas to be Enjoyed Weekly

A few weeks before Foster started seminary, we read a book entitled “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” by John Mark Comer. And by read, I mean listened to on Audible... we’re a busy family, and who actually has the capacity to read anything but children’s stories when you have two little ones in the house?

Anyways, one of our good friends recommended it, and it really entwined a lot of concepts that I have been heartily pursuing lately: a genuine relationship with God and others, simplified and intentional living and making space for rest. That last pursuit seeming to be the most illusive. And I would honestly be remiss to not add the pursuits of efficiency and productivity to the list, but those are understandably not covered in the book.

There is a whole section on “Four Practices for Unhurrying Your Life,” with one of the tenants being Sabbath. I pridefully didn’t expect to get much out of this section, because I have always thought of the Sabbath as a legalistic practice imposed upon the Israelite people to set them apart, yes, but also hinder their productivity. I had also heard once that the Amish people practiced Sabbath, and that it was illegal for them to spit on the ground that day because doing so equated with plowing their fields?

I thought that the Sabbath was an authoritative practice that Jesus ‘set us free from’ when he finished His work on the cross. But I was wrong. When the author described the Sabbath (and I paraphrase) as a ‘less stressful Christmas that you can enjoy every week...’ and an ‘opportunity for your soul to catch up to your body,’ our hearts cried out, “Yes! We need that!”

That week, we practiced our first Sabbath and it has been transformational for us. I won’t go into all the details now, but I felt compelled to share this in the hopes that you would find the message encouraging... and perhaps inspire you to trust in God’s provision by seeking Sabbath rest. Amen.