Do you find yourself burning the candle at both ends? In an American culture of workaholism and passionate drive for success, developing a rhythm of rest is more important than ever. With burnout on the rise, people are coming out of 2020 and going through 2021 feeling overworked, overstressed, and over-scheduled. 

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF SABBATH REST

God’s plan for His children isn't burnout: It's to develop a rhythm of rest, which is typically referred to in the Bible as observing the Sabbath. A true, Biblical Sabbath is a 24 hour block of time when you can do 4 things that help restore your soul and allow you to work from a place of rest and abundance throughout the week.

#1: STOP PAID AND UNPAID WORK

It may sound like an impossible challenge, but to develop a rhythm of rest, you'll want to start by stopping all your work for 24 hours. That means stopping both your paid and unpaid work. Start by setting aside a full 24 hours in your calendar, whether that takes place on a Sunday or any other day of the week.

#2: REST

The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:2-3 that after God created the Heavens and the Earth and all of Creation, he rested and made the seventh day holy. So, on the Sabbath, set clear boundaries so you can truly take the day off to observe this special day of the week. Guard your rest and take the Sabbath day seriously by making a family plan. This can help you figure out what needs to be done to clear the way for a truly restful day. Then, when you get to your Sabbath, you are free to rest from chores, cooking, work, and anything else that doesn't give life to your soul.

#3: DELIGHT IN GOD

On the Sabbath, God took time to delight in His Creation! Likewise, in Christ, we can delight in all God has given us. What brings you deep joy and delight that God has given to you? That's what the Sabbath is for! If this is difficult to pinpoint for you, start by trying to make a list of the places, people and activities that energize you. If it's life-giving to your soul, do more of that!

#4: CONTEMPLATE

Finally, use your Sabbath Day for contemplation. You see, the central focus of the Sabbath is worship of our living God! So, spend time basking in the love of your Heavenly Father and giving gratitude to Jesus. This is exactly why we come together for Worship on Sunday. We carve time out of our day to sing to God, to read His Word, to be energized and encouraged in Christian community. On the Sabbath, we remember what Jesus did on the Cross to redeem us from our sin and to reunite us with God forever! How will you prepare your heart to worship God and receive His word on the Sabbath?

As you develop rhythms of rest each week, we pray that you’ll be encouraged to know that even when you get nothing productive done in a day, you are utterly adored by the God of the Universe! Whether finding moments of rest each day or taking 24 hours of the day each week to rest and connect to God, we pray that these rhythms will help you see God at work in your life more clearly throughout the week!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

As you learn how to develop an Emotionally Healthy Spirituality in your life and relationships, we pray the Holy Spirit will spark a spiritual revolution of healing in your life and home. To continue learning, check out the below additional content from Liquid Church:

• ARTICLE: When You Hit A Wall In Your Faith - At some point, every Christian hits a wall in their journey with Jesus-- a crisis that’s beyond your control. But in His mercy, God can use that wall or situation to transform your character to be more like Christ! Click here to read the article on The Liquid Blog.
• ARTICLE: Dealing With Grief As A Christian - Grief takes on many forms, and losses are much more than just when we lose someone we love. To learn how to grieve in a spiritually healthy way, click here to read the article on The Liquid Blog.