Psalm 46:10a – Be still, and know that I am God…
If you’re anything like me, when you hear the word sabbath, you think of rest. And rightfully so. If we go back to the beginning of everything, we see that the first thing God did after He created humans and called it all good was rest. For a long time, I thought creating the universe and everything in it must have been so tiring that God just had to take a breather–to rest up in preparation for the next big thing that happens (spoiler alert, it’s not good). However, I learned that the meaning of the word sabbath is actually to cease work. God did not rest because He was worn out from all of that creation; the work was finished, so He ceased working. He blessed that day and made it holy because He rested. Thousands of years later, He commanded the Israelites to remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. They were to do no work on that day, the same way He did no work at the end of creation. God did not create the Sabbath simply so we would have a reason to rest. While it is healthy for us to regularly kick back and enjoy time off from work and chores, this is not the only reason we are to cease work. God created the Sabbath to draw us closer to Him. The more time we spend unhurried and unrestricted, just being in His presence, the more we grow our relationship with Him.
I have seen this play out in my marriage. For years, my husband and I both had projects that occupied lots of our time independently, leaving very little time to spend together. As a result, most of our time together was spent discussing logistics and catching up on each other’s day. Recently, both of our independent projects came to an end within a month of each other. Almost overnight we went from weekly reviewing our separate schedules, trying to find time where we could maybe catch dinner together, to both of us being home nearly every night with no other obligations. At first, it was a little awkward – once we covered household chores and schedules, what was left to talk about? But when we ran out of boxes to check, we began to talk with each other about each other. We covered new ground in old areas as we shared our goals and dreams, relived the victories and accomplishments we shared, and even found freedom in revisiting past hurts. We have discovered a connection on a level we didn’t know existed before, and it has revolutionized our marriage.
I believe this is what God had in mind when he created the Sabbath. It is not just for rest or to check a box. It is to foster an unhurried time, where He calls us to come to Him without an agenda or a script and find a deeper connection with Him. He invites us to share our goals and dreams with Him and relive the victories He has shared with us and the difficulties we have walked through together. So celebrate the Sabbath whenever you can, and draw closer to the God who created you.