How to Sabbath
Start your journey of embracing eternity in a day and finding shalom.
Why should you Sabbath?
Our western culture is often at odds with family and community centered around God.
We go through our weeks only to end up feeling tired and worn out when the weekend arrives.
“I Sabbath on Sunday.” is what many of us say, but after an hour at church, we’re back to the same patterns, with the same frustrations looming over us as another week is about to begin.
Does this sound familiar?
How do you break free from this?
How do you create new rhythms?
How do you cultivate a lifestyle that enriches your soul and deepens your love for God as the creator and sustainer of all things?
For us it started with the Sabbath.
What is the Sabbath?
The very first book of the Bible tells the story of God creating the world. After six days of creating, God takes a step back and declares that his work was very good. Then, on the seventh day after God has perfectly completed his work of creating, the story shows us that the creator of the universe rested. The Hebrew word for rested is shâbath (שׁבת), which means “to cease” or “to stop.”
“God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.”
—Genesis 2:3
God then blesses the seventh day and he sets it apart as different from all of the other days so that the work he had created could continue to produce and thrive. Out of all the days in the creation narrative, the seventh day is the only day that God sanctifies and declares is holy. Not because of anything we’ve done or deserved, but because God alone divinely ordained it as holy time.
God, who doesn’t need to rest or take a break, sets up a rhythm for life for humans and all of creation. Before he made a covenant with Abraham and before any laws were given to the ancient Israelite people, God set a pattern for us to follow as a gift of his never ending goodness. A gift that would allow us experience his presence in a day. A day where we don’t have to work or worry, because we know that the King of the Universe has provided everything we need.
Does this sound foreign?
Does it stir your heart?
How should you respond to this?
Where do you start?
What do you do to usher in the Sabbath, recognizing it as a holy day in time and space?
How do you sanctify it and set it apart from the other days of the week?
We have found that Kiddush, a traditional Jewish prayer that means “sanctification,” is a great way to intentionally demarcate the Sabbath as a set apart day.
What do you do?
Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Jewish rabbi and theologian, describes the Sabbath as “Eternity in a day.” In his book aptly titled “The Sabbath”, he puts forth the idea that since God is a God of time and space, unable to be relegated to an object (Hence the command to not create images or idols representing God), that instead, we are given a day—the seventh day—to be fully immersed in this divine presence that permeates all things.
By responding to the Sabbath, you are making yourself more aware of God’s presence in the world.
What would you do in response to this? What would you do every day, over and over if you could live forever?
You’d likely do something you enjoy—something that isn’t stressful or draining.
You wouldn’t be in a hurry or be frustrated.
Eugene Peterson, pastor and writer of the Message said that he spent his time on Sabbath to “Pray and Play.”
It shouldn’t feel difficult. Perhaps a bit uncomfortable as you form new rhythms—as you learn to live freely and lightly.
But don’t forget, the whole purpose of the sabbath is for you to rest. Rest in just being you. Rest in God’s presence in a day. Rest in the community and friendships that you have. No obligations, no low-grade anxiety, just a sense of completeness and shalom.
“For the Sabbath is joy, holiness, and rest.
Joy is part of this world, holiness and rest or something of the world to come.”
—Abraham Joshua Heschel