Finding Rest in the Rhythms of LifeShembull

The Rhythm of Sabbath

It’s important to point out the importance of practicing a regular Sabbath rhythm . . . the ability to stop. Part of our issue is that we don’t remember how. With lives that are so full of options for entertainment and for keeping ourselves busy, we need to remember how to stop and acknowledge that life continues without our effort. . . . 

While we are resting, God is always working. He doesn’t “need” us to do anything, but allows us to join him in his kingdom work here on earth. Taking a day of Sabbath helps us to see the difference between what is essential in our lives and what we’ve allowed to remain as the illusion of being essential in our lives.

Many impactful and timeless literary works speak about the significance of Sabbath in our lives. Sabbath as Resistance by Walter Brueggemann, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn, and Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel immediately come to mind as invaluable resources for research and development of our own rhythm.

Find a way to set apart some intentional time in your week to make the space you desire the Lord to fill with rest. Have a conversation with your family about what this can and will look like as you establish this rhythm in your life. As we’ve outlined, there is nothing inherently spiritual about taking a day to rest. But, when we take the day and [focus] our hopes for the day, it is then that we begin to experience the spiritual benefits. Thank God for the physical rest that you get to experience, and see it fully for what it is—something contrary to what our normal daily life is all about. 

Proactively lean into acknowledging the ways that God is at work on our behalf apart from what we contribute in our own effort.

With all these things, we don’t want to allow the rhythms to become idols. These are all examples of various pathways to connect with God. Routines can help us find comfortable structures that can lend toward experiencing things that we might not have without the intentional step forward. We need to ask the Spirit of God to minister to us and guide us through the process. 

Second Corinthians 3:4–6 says, “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 

We will do what we know to do, which is to position ourselves by practicing the rhythms for the Lord to do his work in our lives. 

Only God can provide true soul rest.

We hope this plan encouraged you. Learn how to unlock your Bible study’s full potential in this free ebook.

This reading plan is adapted from Soul Rest: Reclaim Your Life, Return to Sabbath by Curtis Zackery (Bellingham, WA: Kirkdale Press), 2018.