The Sabbath PracticeSample

Day 3: Delight

“Because the world is full of ugly things, we need the Sabbath to feed our soul with beauty.” —Tim Keller

The world is full of ugliness—systemic injustice, war, mass violence, crushing poverty, and more. But it’s also full of goodness. And while Jesus himself said, “In this world, you will have trouble” (John 16v33), he also said “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full” (John 15v11).

The problem is, sorrow is inevitable in life, but joy is not. Sorrow will come to visit our life, with or without our permission, but joy we have to choose and keep choosing, over and over again. There are times when joy is easy, but there are also times when joy is a sheer act of obedience to Jesus. That’s why Richard Foster called it the “discipline of celebration.”

In Scripture, the word “joy” is both a noun and a verb, which is translated in English as “rejoice,” but more literally means “to joy.” And it’s one of the most common commands in the New Testament (see 2 Corinthians 13v11, Philippians 4v4, and 1 Thessalonians 5v16, just to name a few.)

Sabbath is a discipline of celebration and a delivery mechanism for joy. It is one of the most important disciplines by which we become people who are full of joy, like our God.

In Genesis, we see that God “blessed” the seventh day. The word there is barak; to barak can be translated “to bless,” but also “to make happy.” The Sabbath is a happy day.

On the Sabbath, we delight in God’s world. Many people love to spend time outdoors in nature. But it’s not just the outdoors: we delight in God’s world by focusing on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4v8).

We also delight in our lives in God’s world. It’s so easy to lose sight of just how much goodness is in our life, which is why we fill our Sabbaths with gratitude and thanksgiving for the ways God has been good to us.

And finally, we delight in God himself. Through all the practices, but especially Sabbath, we get to participate in the flow of love and joy and peace between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, just by setting our life before God and lifting up our heart to him in prayer.

So what could you do for a twenty-four period of time that would bring you deep, visceral joy in God?

Enjoy!