What Is My Mission?Uzorak

The Sabbath Rest

Work, work, work. Can I catch a break? Should I take a break?

You were created by God out of love and for work. For the Christian, life without work is meaningless, but work must never become the meaning of one’s life. Work is one of the primary means by which we fulfill our true purpose: to glorify God, serve the common good, and further God’s kingdom. God blesses work. He also blesses rest.

At the end of the creation, God blessed the seventh day, made it holy, and rested. God rested not because he was tired, but because he had completed his work. By instituting the Sabbath, God teaches us that work is not an end in itself. He reiterates this idea again in the Ten Commandments, commanding his people to rest from their work.

Today culture teaches that work supplies identity and meaning to life by maximizing success and money through labor. Therefore, work is never finished, and the constant drive to prove ourselves destroys our ability to find rest.

This distortion cripples our chances of finding true joy and fulfillment in our work. All work degenerates into pure, self-centered ambition when divorced from God.

How then can rest deliver you from always feeling stressed, exhausted, and running on empty?

Correctly practicing the Sabbath brings about a new spiritual understanding of both work and the whole of our lives. The purpose of Sabbath rest is not simply to rejuvenate yourself in order to do more. Nor is it only the pursuit of pleasure.

It is a time to unplug from your vocational work and to enjoy God’s creation. It’s a time to worship. The author of the book of Hebrews writes that we have to labor diligently to enter God’s rest. We have to work hard at disconnecting from what we do the other six days and really enjoy the peace and release God has designed for us on this holy day. Sabbath keeping has to be intentional.

Setting aside one day in seven to observe the Sabbath will begin to change the way you see your work and what it can and cannot accomplish.

We should love the vocational work that God has given us so much that he makes us take a day off every week. Let Sabbath rest rejuvenate you and your work.

Do you practice Sabbath rest? How could Sabbath rest change your work?

Additional Elements:

Read more about what the Bible has to say about rest and recreation in, “Is There Room in Our Theology of Work for Rest and Recreation?”