SABBATH
29th Aug 2018
Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) The Sabbath is made for you to rest, not to keep rules and regulations. The Sabbath is God’s idea to combat stress, to give time to rest, reflect, replenish and to be creative as we look ahead. It was given to be a blessing, a restorative different day.
I used to resent Sunday - it was a long busy demanding day. I saw others using the time for leisure and pleasure, which gave me a very negative attitude. It took time before I realised that in the light of the demands of Sunday we needed a different day of rest. Before Charles was in full time ministry he had a half day off, on Thursday, but worked Saturday, and Sunday was given to worship, entertaining, youth work etc. and so another week began!
So we would seek to keep Thursday afternoon and evening free, later Thursday became our ‘day of rest’. It became a delight to be quiet, walk and think, behind closed doors, without the phone, and we guarded this special time.
Sabbath is God’s gift to us, He knows what our bodies and minds need, and although the content changes with seasons of life, it will always be necessary to have a Sabbath. Without it stress can build up and the demands of life can cause us to be like the proverbial hamster on his wheel!
So do you have a “Sabbath”? Do you have a time when you keep yourself free from phone and media for just 24 hours? Do you rest, or set apart time to just “be”? You may say, I am retired I can rest when I choose - do you?
There is something incredibly joyful about Sabbath - it can take a different form each time, but it needs to be deliberate, consecrated weekly time when you acknowledge your need of this gift created by God for you to recharge.
It can be flexible, not necessarily quiet or lacking in company, but a day set apart for a specific purpose. Maybe our society’s neglect of this is contributing to the stress and mental health issues around us. Our Creator planned it and thought it necessary, so let’s do it.
by Joyce Sibthorpe
