Sunday has been called the ‘Day of Rest.’ If you hear that as someone who works, serves, or volunteers as a part of a Church staff, or ministry team, you probably laugh - because Sundays can often feel anything but restful for you and your family. But rest is an important rhythm to our lives as followers of Jesus. God created and rested, not because He needed the rest, but because He was modeling for those of us who cultivate His creation the way He invites us to live.
If you work on the Day of Rest, how do you, in fact, rest?
Learn about Sabbath from Scripture. Why was Jesus always breaking man-made rules about the Sabbath? What can we learn about the rhythms of worship and service that we find in the New Testament? Why did God create and model Sabbath? Why was the Sabbath celebration an integral part of the life of His people Israel? What should Sabbath look like for a follower of Jesus now? Sabbath and rest was God’s idea, let’s go to the source to learn and be formed in our understanding.
Read about Sabbath. We can easily assume rest means not doing anything - disconnecting from life and reality. The more I learn about rest and sabbath, the more I see how rest and Sabbath are about cultivating and participating in things that fuel me and give me life. Is binging Netflix truly life-giving to my soul? Probably not. There are many great books on the Sabbath available, some of my favorites have been: The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel, Subversive Sabbath by A.J. Swoboda, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.
Find sustainable rhythms. We are not infinite, and we are not God. If we are to be in the work of ministry for the long haul, we must find sustainable rhythms by learning to live within the limits of our time, resources, family responsibilities, seasons, and stages of life. Learning to develop other leaders, delegate tasks, and being okay when things that speak more to my ego than the necessity of serving God’s people fall through the cracks are all things that have (and continue) to make space in my life for sustainable rhythms.
Serve from rest. Jesus says, ‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matt 11:28-30)’. If we are to point to the One who gives us rest in our serving and our songs, we must be spending time resting in His presence.
I hope and pray that you are able to rest, and that your service to God’s people is life-giving more than it is soul-sucking.