Learning to Practice the SabbathSample

Lending A Helping Hand

Think of the Sabbath as divine permission to stop. It’s about ceasing so that you can make space to enjoy God’s goodness, reflect on all He has given you, and let Him restore you.

Does that mean you get to just check out and do whatever you want? Not quite.

Jesus demonstrated that if you encounter someone on the Sabbath who needs help or healing, you lend a hand. We stop working, we never stop loving. When you reconnect with your family and the loved ones in your community, you’re honoring the Sabbath, too.

It’s simple. After working for six days, God is asking you to set apart one day to stop and rest with Him.

This isn’t about merely stopping your regular work to follow a different to-do list or packing your weekends with “restful” activities. It's about embracing a day that God has lovingly prepared for you as an opportunity to connect with Him and have your spirit renewed – and, it’s about trusting Him with the work that you’ve put on pause.

As you continue practicing a Sabbath rest week after week, this permission to stop creates a regular rhythm, that gives you a fuller and more abundant life. When you use a day to shed the busyness and reorient your heart toward God and His purposes, you are actually doing the “good work” of rest.

Pause and Consider

Have you ever been too busy to help someone? Are you ready to set aside a day to stop working and rest? Look at your calendar for the next week, and mark when you are going to set work aside for an entire 24 hours.